Lactobacillus acidophilus nucleic acids and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

Lactobacillus acidophilus  NCFM nucleic acid molecules, polypeptides, fragments and variants thereof are provided in the current invention. In addition, fusion proteins, antigenic peptides, and antibodies are encompassed. The invention also provides recombinant expression vectors containing a nucleic acid molecule of the invention and cells comprising the expression vectors. Methods for producing the polypeptides of the invention and methods for their use are further provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/260,843, filed Oct. 27, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,182 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/711,491, filed Aug. 26, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/622,712, filed Oct. 27, 2004, the contents of both applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to polynucleotides and polypeptides encoded by them, as well as methods for using the polypeptides and microorganisms expressing them.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lactobacillus acidophilus is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, non-spore forming, homofermentative bacterium that is a normal inhabitant of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. Since its original isolation by Moro (1900) from infant feces, the “acid loving” organism has been found in the intestinal tract of humans, breast fed infants, and persons consuming high milk-, lactose-, or dextrin diets. Historically, Lactobacillus Acidophilus is the Lactobacillus species most often implicated as an intestinal probiotic capable of eliciting beneficial effects on the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract (Klaenhammer and Russell (2000) “Species of the Lactobacillus acidophilus Complex,” in Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, Volume 2, ed. Robinson et al., (Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.), pp. 1151-1157). Lactobacillus Acidophilus can ferment hexoses, including lactose and more complex oligosaccharides (Kaplan and Hutkins (2000) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66:2682-2684) to produce lactic acid and lower the pH of the environment where the organism is cultured. Acidified environments (e.g. food, vagina, and regions within the gastrointestinal tract) can interfere with the growth of undesirable bacteria, pathogens, and yeasts. The organism is well known for its acid tolerance, survival in cultured dairy products, and viability during passage through the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. Lactobacilli and other commensal bacteria, some of which are considered as probiotic bacteria that “favor life,” have been studied extensively for their effects on human health, particularly in the prevention or treatment of enteric infections, diarrheal disease, prevention of cancer, and stimulation of the immune system.

Microbial esterases and lipases are presently of interest because of their potential applications in biotechnology for food processing, surfactant composition, detergents, paper, oil manufacture, diagnostics, and optically active drugs (Jaeger et al. (1999) Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 53:315-351, Jaeger and Reetz (1998) Trends Biotech. 16:396-403). The enzymes that modify milk fat are lipases (triacylglycerol lipases; EC 3.1.1.3) and esterases (EC 3.1.1.1). Esterases are, by definition, enzymes that have the ability to hydrolyze ester substrates with short-chain fatty esters (≦C₁₀), whereas lipases hydrolyze long-chain acylglycerols (≧C₁₀) (Verger (1997) Trends Biotech. 15:32-38). The substrates and products of these enzymes may be involved in the formation of various flavor components of maturing cheeses, fermented dairy products, cured bacon and fermented sausages. It has been an interest in the dairy field to reduce the inherent cost and to enhance flavor intensity of various cheeses by shortening the maturation period in their preparation and processing. The free fatty acids, which are liberated by the action of lipases or esterases on milk fat, give dairy products their typical flavor characteristics. Upon further breakdown of fatty acids, reactions with other components of maturing cheeses and fermented dairy products, which may contribute to the formation of various flavor components, are likely to occur (Stead (1986) J. Dairy Sci. 53:481-505).

Oxalic acid is a strong dicarboxylic acid (pK_(a) ¹=1.23; pK_(a) ²=3.83) and a toxic compound that irritates tissues. This effect was recognized in the eighteenth century, when used for cleaning and bleaching. Oxalate in extremely high concentrations can cause death in humans and animals, and pathological disorders, including hyperoxaluria (an oxalate level exceeding the normal range), pyridoxine deficiency, urolithiasis (formation of calculi or uroliths), renal failure, and others (Hatch et al. (1995) Scanning Microsc 9:1121-1126). The toxicity of oxalate has been related to its capability to generate reactive oxygen species (through the Fenton reaction) as hydroxyl or carbonate radicals during its interaction with hydrogen peroxide (Park et al. (1997) Free Rad Res 27:447-458 and Urzua et al. (1998) Appl. Envirn. Microbiol. 64:68-73). Oxalate occurs widely in nature and many foods such as boiled carrots (1.88 mg/g), tomatoes (0.04 mg/g), celery (0.17 mg/g), potato (0.02 mg/g) and corn (0.03 mg/g), and other dietary sources such as tea (0.11 mg/ml), coffee (0.05 mg/ml) and chocolate (1.17 mg/g). Oxalic acid can also be produced by non enzymatic degradation or from some metabolic precursors (like ascorbic acid) by the intestinal microflora (Ogawa et al. (2000) World J. Surg. 24:1154-1159). In the intestine, oxalate may combine with calcium, sodium, magnesium, or potassium forming less soluble salts, but also with iron generating high soluble salts. The presence of bacteria that specifically degrade oxalate has been proposed to regulate the oxalate homeostasis of the host by preventing absorption, catabolizing free oxalate and enhancing oxalate secretion from the circulation. A recent clinical study has demonstrated a correlation between low rates of intestine colonization with oxalate-degrading bacteria, specifically Oxalobacter formigenes, with an increased risk of hyperoxaluria due to an increase in urinary oxalate concentration (Troxel et al. (2003) J. Endourol. 17:173-176). Accordingly, compositions and methods are needed in the art that can modulate oxalate degradation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the formyl-CoA transferase and oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase genes in L. acidophilus NCFM. Putative rho-dependent terminators and their correspondent free energy are indicated.

FIG. 2 shows the proposed metabolic pathway of oxalate decarboxylation by L. acidophilus is also shown.

FIG. 3A shows the transcriptional analysis of the oxc operon in L. acidophilus cells at pH 5.5. Cells were first transferred in MRS broth pH 6.8 (non-adapted). Gene induction was followed over time after cells were placed in MRS broth, pH 5.5. ORF numbers in NCFM are denoted.

FIG. 3B shows the transcriptional analysis of the oxc operon in L. acidophilus cells at pH 5.5. Cells were first transferred in MRS broth pH 6.8 containing non-inhibitory concentrations of ammonium oxalate (pre-adapted). Gene induction was followed over time after cells were placed in MRS broth, pH 5.5. ORF numbers in NCFM are denoted.

FIG. 4 shows survival of log-phase cells of L. acidophilus NCFM and the frc⁻ mutant after challenge with HCl, lactic acid or oxalic acid for 2 hours in MRS broth adjusted to pH 4.0, 3.5, and 3.0.

FIG. 5 shows growth curves of L. acidophillus NCFM in semi-defined BM media containing different concentrations of ammonium oxalate. Growth was evaluated in BM in the presence of 0.1% glucose (▪) and glucose plus 0.1% (▴) or 0.5% (▾) ammonium oxalate, or in the absence of glucose (□) or in the absence of glucose plus 0.1% (Δ) or 0.5% (∇) ammonium oxalate.

FIG. 6 shows oxalate-degrading activity of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Strains NCFM (▪) and frc⁻ (●) were consecutively transferred in broth containing a non-inhibitory concentration of oxalate (3.5 mM), and then transferred to broth containing 32 mM oxalate. Samples were taken over time and oxalate concentration in the supernatants was measured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Specifically, the present invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising, consisting essentially of and/or consisting of the nucleotide sequences as set forth in odd numbered sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOS:1-36, and isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the amino acid sequences comprising the even numbered sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOS:1-36. Also provided are isolated or recombinant polypeptides encoded by a nucleic acid molecule described herein, as well as. polypeptides comprising, consisting essentially of and/or consisting of the amino acid sequences as set forth in even numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36. Variant nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides sufficiently identical to the nucleotide and amino acid sequences set forth in the sequence listings are encompassed by the present invention. Additionally, fragments and sufficiently identical fragments of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences are encompassed. Nucleotide sequences that are complementary to a nucleotide sequence of the invention, or that hybridize to a sequence of the invention are also encompassed.

Compositions further include vectors and cells for recombinant expression of the nucleic acid molecules described herein, as well as transgenic microbial and/or cell populations comprising the vectors. Also included in the invention are methods for the recombinant production of the polypeptides of the invention, and methods for their use. Further are included methods and kits for detecting the presence of a nucleic acid or polypeptide sequence of the invention in a sample, and antibodies that bind to a polypeptide of the invention.

Vectors, cells, and microbes having at least one of these sequences are further provided. These sequences can find use in modulating the oxalate degrading activity of a cell or an organism. Further provided are methods for modulating oxalate degradation in a subject. In one embodiment, oxalate degradation in a subject is increased by administering to the subject and effective concentration of at least one oxalate degrading sequence of the invention. In another embodiment, oxalate degradation in a subject is increased by administering to the subject an effective concentration of a microbe having at least one of the oxalate degrading sequences of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present inventions now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. As used herein, “a” or “an” can mean one or more than one. For example, “a cell” can mean a single cell or a plurality of cells.

As used herein, the terms “gene” and “recombinant gene” refer to nucleic acid molecules comprising an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein. Isolated nucleic acid molecules of the present invention comprise nucleotide sequences encoding the amino acid sequences set forth in even numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36, the nucleic acid sequences set forth in odd numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36 (it being appreciated that nucleic acids are given in the odd-number sequences only, while amino acid sequences are set forth in even numbers), and variants and fragments thereof. The present invention also encompasses antisense nucleic acid molecules, as described below. In another embodiment, promoter and/or regulatory nucleic acid sequences are provided to facilitate expression of nucleic acids.

In addition, isolated polypeptides and proteins encoded by the ORFs set forth, and variants and fragments thereof, are encompassed, as well as methods for producing those polypeptides. For purposes of the present invention, the terms “protein” and “polypeptide” are used interchangeably.

The nucleic acid and protein compositions encompassed by the present invention are isolated or substantially purified. By “isolated” or “substantially purified” is meant that the nucleic acid or protein molecules, or biologically active fragments or variants, are substantially or essentially free from components normally found in association with the nucleic acid or protein in its natural state. Such components include other cellular material, culture media from recombinant production, and various chemicals used in chemically synthesizing the proteins or nucleic acids. Preferably, an “isolated” nucleic acid of the present invention is free of nucleic acid sequences that flank the nucleic acid of interest in the genomic DNA of the organism from which the nucleic acid was derived (such as coding sequences present at the 5′ or 3′ ends). However, the molecule may include some additional bases or moieties that do not deleteriously affect the basic characteristics of the composition. For example, in various embodiments, the isolated nucleic acid contains less than 5 kb, 4 kb, 3 kb, 2 kb, 1 kb, 0.5 kb, or 0.1 kb of nucleic acid sequence normally associated with the genomic DNA in the cells from which it was derived. Similarly, a substantially purified protein has less than about 30%, 20%, 10%, 5%, or 1% (by dry weight) of contaminating protein. When the protein is recombinantly produced, preferably culture medium represents less than 30%, 20%, 10%, or 5% of the volume of the protein preparation, and when the protein is produced chemically, preferably the preparations have less than about 30%, 20%, 10%, or 5% (by dry weight) of chemical precursors.

The compositions and methods of the present invention can be used to modulate the function of molecules. By “modulate,” “alter,” or “modify” is meant the up- or down-regulation of a target activity. In accordance with the present invention, the level or activity of a sequence of the invention is modulated (i.e., overexpressed or underexpressed) if the level and/or activity of the sequence is statistically lower or higher than the level and/or activity of the same sequence in an appropriate control. Concentration and/or activity can be increased or decreased by at least 0.5%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% relative to an appropriate control. Proteins of the invention are useful in modifying the abilities of various bacteria including probiotics and lactic acid bacteria, and also in modifying the nutritional or health-promoting characteristics of foods fermented by such bacteria. Nucleotide molecules of the invention are useful in modulating protein expression. Up- or down-regulation of expression from a polynucleotide of the present invention is encompassed. Up-regulation may be accomplished by providing multiple gene copies, modulating expression by modifying regulatory elements, promoting transcriptional or translational mechanisms, or other means. Down-regulation may be accomplished by using known antisense and gene silencing techniques.

By “lactic acid bacteria” is meant bacteria from a genus selected from the following: Aerococcus, Carnobacterium, Enterococcus, Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Oenococcus, Pediococcus, Streptococcus, Melissococcus, Alloiococcus, Dolosigranulum, Lactosphaera, Tetragenococcus, Vagococcus, and Weissella (Holzapfel et al. (2001) Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 73:365 S-373S; Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Vol. 2. 1986. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore. pp 1075-1079).

By “Lactobacillus” is meant any bacteria from the genus Lactobacillus, including but not limited to L. casei, L. rhamnosus, L. johnsonni, L. gasserei, L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, L. fermentum, L. salivarius, L. bulgaricus, and numerous other species outlined by Wood et al. (Holzapfel, W. H. N. The Genera of Lactic Acid Bacteria, Vol. 2. 1995. Brian J. B. Wood, Ed. Aspen Publishers, Inc.)

The polypeptides of the present invention or microbes producing them are useful as nutritional additives or supplements, and as additives in dairy and fermentation processing. The polynucleotide sequences, encoded polypeptides and microorganisms expressing them are useful in the manufacture of milk-derived products, such as cheeses, yogurt, fermented milk products, sour milks and buttermilk. Microorganisms that produce polypeptides of the invention may be probiotic organisms. By “probiotic” is meant a live microorganism that survives passage through the gastrointestinal tract and has a beneficial effect on the subject. By “subject” is meant a living organism, including a plant, a microbe, a human, an animal (domestic, agricultural, or exotic), etc.

The polynucleotides and polypeptides of the present invention are useful in modifying milk-derived products. These uses include, but are not limited to, modulating the growth rate of a bacterium, modifying the flavor of a fermented dairy product, modulating the acidification rate of a milk product fermented by lactic acid bacteria, and altering the products produced during fermentation.

In another embodiment, the compositions of the invention comprise oxalate degrading polypeptides and polynucleotides. Such sequences include those set forth in SEQ ID NOS:1, 2, 3, and 4. Additional sequences include those set forth in SEQ ID NOS:5-36 which can be used to modulate oxalate degradation. As discussed in further detail below, such sequences can be used to modulate the oxalate degradation capability of a variety of cell types, microbes, and subjects. Specific proteins included in the present invention can be found in Table 1.

In various embodiments, the nucleic acid molecules of the invention encode proteins. They can also encode mRNA transcripts having the cDNA sequences comprising nucleotide sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 or 3 or odd numbered SEQ ID NOS:5-36.

In addition to the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein, and fragments and variants thereof, the isolated nucleic acid molecules of the current invention also encompass homologous DNA sequences identified and isolated from other organisms or cells by hybridization with entire or partial sequences obtained from the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein, or variants and fragments thereof.

Fragments and Variants

The invention includes isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising nucleotide sequences regulating and encoding proteins or variants and fragments thereof, as well as the proteins encoded thereby. By “protein” is meant proteins having the amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOS:2 and 4 and even numbered SEQ ID NOS:5-36. Fragments, biologically active portions, and/or variants of these nucleotide sequences and encoded proteins are also provided. By “fragment” of a nucleotide sequence or protein is meant a portion of the nucleotide sequence or amino acid sequence that is less than the entire nucleotide sequence or protein.

Fragments of the nucleic acid molecules disclosed herein can be used as hybridization probes to identify other sequences in a sample having varying degrees of homology to the nucleic acid molecules of this invention, or can be used as primers in PCR amplification protocols or mutation of sequences. Fragments of nucleic acid molecules of this invention can also be bound to a physical substrate to comprise what can be considered a macro- or microarray (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,837,832; 5,861,242; 6,309,823, and International Publication Nos. WO 89/10977, WO 89/11548, and WO 93/17126). Such arrays of nucleic acids can be used to study gene expression or to identify nucleic acid molecules with sufficient identity to the target sequences.

By “nucleic acid molecule” is meant DNA molecules (e.g., cDNA or genomic DNA) and RNA molecules (e.g., mRNA) and analogs of DNA or RNA generated using nucleotide analogs. The nucleic acid molecule can be single-stranded or double-stranded, but preferably is double-stranded DNA. A nucleotide fragment of a protein can encode a protein fragment that is biologically active, or it can be used as a hybridization probe or PCR primer as described herein. A biologically active nucleotide fragment can be prepared by isolating a portion of one of the nucleotide sequences of the invention, expressing the nucleotide sequence to produce the encoded portion of the protein (e.g., by recombinant expression in vitro), and assessing the activity of the encoded portion of the protein. Fragments of nucleic acid molecules can comprise at least about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 75, 100, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 1050, 1100, 1150, 1200, 1250, 1300, 1350, 1400, 1450, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000, 2200, 2500, 2700, 3000, 3200, 3500, 3700, 4000, 4200, or 4500 contiguous nucleotides, including any number between 5 and 4500 not specifically recited herein, or up to the total number of nucleotides present in a full-length nucleotide sequence as disclosed herein.

Fragments of amino acid sequences include polypeptide fragments suitable for use as immunogens to raise antibodies. Fragments include peptides comprising amino acid sequences sufficiently identical to or derived from the amino acid sequence of a protein, or partial-length protein, of the invention and exhibiting at least one activity of a protein, but which include fewer amino acids than the full-length proteins disclosed herein. Typically, biologically active fragments comprise a domain or motif with at least one activity of the protein. A biologically active fragment of a protein can be a polypeptide which is, for example, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, or 500 contiguous amino acids in length, including any number between 5 and 500 not specifically recited herein, or up to the total number of amino acids present in a full-length protein of the current invention. Such biologically active fragments can be prepared, for example, by recombinant techniques and evaluated for one or more of the immunogenic and/or functional activities of a native protein. As used here, a fragment comprises at least 5 contiguous amino acids of even numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36. The invention encompasses other fragments, however, such as any fragment in the protein greater than 6, 7, 8, or 9 amino acids.

In one embodiment of the invention, fragments of the polynucleotides or polypeptides of SEQ ID NOS:5-36 are provided. A biologically active fragment of a polypeptide or polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:5-36 can comprise, for example, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, or 500 contiguous amino acids or nucleotides in length, including any number between 5 and 500 not specifically recited herein, or up to the total number of amino acids or nucleotides present in a full-length protein or polynucleotide of the invention. Such biologically active fragments can continue to be biologically active (i.e., modulate oxalate degrading activity or any other activity disclosed herein).

In another embodiment of the invention, fragments of the polynucleotides or polypeptides of SEQ ID NOS:1, 2, 3, or 4 are provided. A biologically active fragment of a polypeptide or polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3, or 4 can comprise, for example, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, or 500 contiguous amino acids or nucleotides in length, including any number between 5 and 500 not specifically recited herein, or up to the total number of amino acids or nucleotides present in a full-length protein or polynucleotide of the invention. Such biologically active fragments can continue to be biologically active (i.e., have oxalate degrading activity or any other method disclosed herein).

Variants of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences are encompassed in the present invention. By “variant” is meant a sufficiently identical sequence. Accordingly, the invention encompasses isolated nucleic acid molecules that are sufficiently identical to the nucleotide sequences encoding polypeptides comprising amino acid sequences as set forth in even numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36, or nucleic acid molecules that hybridize to a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence as set forth in odd numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36, or a complement thereof, under stringent conditions. Variants also include polypeptides encoded by the nucleotide sequences of the present invention. In addition, polypeptides of the current invention have an amino acid sequence that is sufficiently identical to an amino acid sequence as set forth in even numbered SEQ. ID NOS:1-36. By “sufficiently identical” is meant that one amino acid sequence or nucleotide sequence contains a sufficient or minimal number of equivalent or identical amino acid residues or nucleotides as compared to a second amino acid or nucleotide sequence, thus providing a common structural domain and/or indicating a common functional activity. Conservative nucleotide sequence variants include those nucleotide sequences that differ due to the degeneracy of the genetic code.

In general, amino acid sequences or nucleotide sequences that have at least about 45%, 55%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% or 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity to any of the amino acid sequences of even numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36 or any of the nucleotide sequences of odd numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-36, respectively, are defined herein as sufficiently identical. Variant proteins encompassed by the present invention are biologically active, that is they continue to possess the desired biological activity of the native protein, that is, activity as described herein. A biologically active variant of a protein of the invention can differ from that protein by as few as 1-15 amino acid residues, as few as 1-10, such as 6-10, as few as 5, as few as 4, 3, 2, or even 1 amino acid residue.

In one embodiment of the invention, variants of polypeptides or polynucleotides of SEQ ID NOS:1, 2, 3, or 4 are provided. A variant of a polypeptide or polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3, or 4 can comprise, in general, amino acid sequences or nucleotide sequences that have at least about 45%, 55%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% or 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity to any of the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO:2 or 4 or any of the nucleotide sequences of SEQ ID NO:1 or 3, respectively. Biologically active variants can continue to be biologically active (i.e., have oxalate degrading activity).

In another embodiment of the invention, variants of polypeptides or polynucleotides of SEQ ID NOS:5-36 are provided. A variant of a polypeptide or polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:5-36 can comprise, in general, amino acid sequences or nucleotide sequences that have at least about 45%, 55%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% or 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity to any of the amino acid sequences of even numbered SEQ ID NOS:5-36 or any of the nucleotide sequences of odd numbered SEQ ID NO:5-36, respectively. Biologically active variants can continue to be biologically active (i.e., have oxalate degrading activity or any other activity disclosed herein).

Naturally occurring variants can exist within a population (e.g., the Lactobacillus Acidophilus population). Such variants can be identified by using well-known molecular biology techniques, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and hybridization as described herein. Synthetically derived nucleotide sequences, for example, sequences generated by site-directed mutagenesis or PCR-mediated mutagenesis which still encode a protein, are also included as variants. One or more nucleotide or amino acid substitutions, additions, or deletions can be introduced into a nucleotide or amino acid sequence disclosed herein, such that the substitutions, additions, or deletions are introduced into the encoded protein. The additions (insertions) or deletions (truncations) can be made at the N-terminal or C-terminal end of the native protein, or at one or more sites in the native protein. Similarly, a substitution of one or more nucleotides or amino acids can be made at one or more sites in the native protein.

For example, conservative amino acid substitutions can be made at one or more predicted, preferably nonessential, amino acid residues. A “nonessential” amino acid residue is a residue that can be altered from the wild-type sequence of a protein without altering the biological activity, whereas an “essential” amino acid is required for biological activity. A “conservative amino acid substitution” is one in which the amino acid residue is replaced with an amino acid residue with a similar side chain. Families of amino acid residues having similar side chains are known in the art. These families include amino acids with basic side chains (e.g., lysine, arginine, histidine), acidic side chains (e.g., aspartic acid, glutamic acid), uncharged polar side chains (e.g., glycine, asparagine, glutamine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, cysteine), nonpolar side chains (e.g., alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine, methionine, tryptophan), beta-branched side chains (e.g., threonine, valine, isoleucine) and aromatic side chains (e.g., tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine). Such substitutions would not be made for conserved amino acid residues, or for amino acid residues residing within a conserved motif, where such residues are essential for protein activity.

Alternatively, mutations can be made randomly along all or part of the length of the coding sequence, such as by saturation mutagenesis. The mutants can be expressed recombinantly, and screened for those that retain biological activity by assaying for activity using standard assay techniques. Methods for mutagenesis and nucleotide sequence alterations are known in the art. See, for example, Kunkel (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:488-492; Kunkel et al. (1987) Methods in Enzymol. Molecular Biology (MacMillan Publishing Company, New York) and the references sited therein. Obviously the mutations made in the DNA encoding the variant must not disrupt the reading frame and preferably will not create complementary regions that could produce secondary mRNA structure. See, EP Patent Application Publication No. 75,444. Guidance as to appropriate amino acid substitutions that do not affect biological activity of the protein of interest can be found in the model of Dayhoff et al. (1978) Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure (Natl. Biomed. Res. Found., Washington, D.C.), herein incorporated by reference.

The deletions, insertions, and substitutions of the amino sequences encompassed herein are not expected to produce radical changes in the characteristics of the protein. However, when it is difficult to predict the exact effect of the substitution, deletion, or insertion in advance of doing so, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the effect will be evaluated by routine screening assays.

Variant nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the present invention also encompass sequences derived from mutagenic and recombinogenic procedures such as DNA shuffling. With such a procedure, one or more different protein coding regions can be used to create a new protein possessing the desired properties. In this manner, libraries of recombinant polynucleotides are generated from a population of related sequence polynucleotides comprising sequence regions that have substantial sequence identity and can be homologously recombined in vitro or in vivo. For example, using this approach, sequence motifs encoding a domain of interest can be shuffled between the gene of the invention and other known genes to obtain a new gene coding for a protein with an improved property of interest, such as an increased K_(m) in the case of an enzyme. Strategies for such DNA shuffling are known in the art. See, for example, Stemmer (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:10747-10751; Stemmer (1994) Nature 370:389-391; Crameri et al. (1997) Nature Biotech. 15:436-438; Moore et al. (1997) J. Mol. Biol. 272:336-347; Zhang et al. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:4504-4509; Crameri et al. (1998) Nature 391:288-291; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,793 and 5,837,458.

Variants of the proteins of this invention can function as either agonists (mimetics) or as antagonists. An agonist of the protein can retain substantially the same, or a subset, of the biological activities of the naturally occurring form of the protein. An antagonist of the protein can inhibit one or more of the activities of the naturally occurring form of the protein by, for example, competitively binding to a downstream or upstream member of a cellular signaling cascade that includes the protein.

Variants of a protein that function as either agonists or antagonists can be identified by screening combinatorial libraries of mutants, e.g., truncation mutants, of a protein for protein agonist or antagonist activity. In one embodiment, a variegated library of variants is generated by combinatorial mutagenesis at the nucleic acid level and is encoded by a variegated gene library. A variegated library of variants can be produced by, for example, enzymatically ligating a mixture of synthetic oligonucleotides into gene sequences such that a degenerate set of potential sequences is expressible as individual polypeptides, or alternatively, as a set of larger fusion proteins (e.g., for phage display) containing the set of sequences therein. There are a variety of methods that can be used to produce libraries of potential variants from a degenerate oligonucleotide sequence. Chemical synthesis of a degenerate gene sequence can be performed in an automatic DNA synthesizer, and the synthetic gene then ligated into an appropriate expression vector. Use of a degenerate set of genes allows for the provision, in one mixture, of all of the sequences encoding the desired set of potential sequences. Methods for synthesizing degenerate oligonucleotides are known in the art (see, e.g., Narang (1983) Tetrahedron 39:3; Itakura et al. (1984) Annu. Rev. Biochem. 53:323; Itakura et al. (1984) Science 198:1056; Ike et al. (1983) Nucleic Acid Res. 11:477).

In addition, libraries of fragments of a protein coding sequence can be used to generate a variegated population of fragments for screening and subsequent selection of variants of a protein. In one embodiment, a library of coding sequence fragments can be generated by treating a double-stranded PCR fragment of a coding sequence with a nuclease under conditions wherein nicking occurs only about once per molecule, denaturing the double-stranded DNA, renaturing the DNA to form double-stranded DNA which can include sense/antisense pairs from different nicked products, removing single-stranded portions from reformed duplexes by treatment with S1 nuclease, and ligating the resulting fragment library into an expression vector. By this method, one can derive an expression library that encodes N-terminal and internal fragments of various sizes of the protein.

Several techniques are known in the art for screening gene products of combinatorial libraries made by point mutations or truncation and for screening cDNA libraries for gene products having a selected property. Such techniques are adaptable for rapid screening of the gene libraries generated by the combinatorial mutagenesis of proteins. The most widely used techniques, which are amenable to high through-put analysis, for screening large gene libraries typically include cloning the gene library into replicable expression vectors, transforming appropriate cells with the resulting library of vectors, and expressing the combinatorial genes under conditions in which detection of a desired activity facilitates isolation of the vector encoding the gene whose product was detected. Recursive ensemble mutagenesis (REM), a technique that enhances the frequency of functional mutants in the libraries, can be used in combination with the screening assays to identify variants (Arkin and Yourvan (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:7811-7815; Delgrave et al. (1993) Protein Engineering 6(3):327-331).

Sequence Identity

The sequences are members of multiple families of molecules, with conserved functional features. By “family” is meant two or more proteins or nucleic acid molecules having sufficient nucleotide or amino acid sequence identity. A family that contains deeply divergent groups can be divided into subfamilies. A clan is a group of families that are thought to have common ancestry. Members of a clan often have a similar tertiary structure.

By “sequence identity” is meant the nucleotide or amino acid residues that are the same when aligning two sequences for maximum correspondence over a specified comparison window. By “comparison window” is meant a contiguous segment of the two nucleotide sequences or amino acid sequences for optimal alignment, wherein the second sequence can contain additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) as compared to the first sequence. Generally, for nucleotide sequence alignments, the comparison window is at least 20 contiguous nucleotides in length, and optionally can be 30, 40, 50, 100, or longer. For amino acid sequence alignments, the comparison window is at least 6 contiguous amino acids in length, and optionally can be 10, 15, 20, 30, or longer. Those of skill in the art understand that to avoid a high similarity due to inclusion of gaps, a gap penalty is typically introduced and is subtracted from the number of matches.

Family members can be from the same or different species, and can include homologues as well as distinct proteins. Often, members of a family display common functional characteristics. Homologues can be isolated based on their identity to the nucleic acid sequences disclosed herein using the cDNA, or a portion thereof, as a hybridization probe according to standard hybridization techniques under stringent hybridization conditions as disclosed below.

To determine the percent identity of two amino acid or nucleotide sequences, an alignment is performed. Percent identity of the two sequences is a function of the number of identical residues shared by the two sequences in the comparison window (i.e., percent identity=number of identical residues/total number of residues×100). In one embodiment, the sequences are the same length. Methods similar to those mentioned below can be used to determine the percent identity between two sequences. The methods can be used with or without allowing gaps. Alignment can also be performed manually by inspection.

When amino acid sequences differ in conservative substitutions, the percent identity can be adjusted upwards to correct for the conservative nature of the substitution. Means for making this adjustment are known in the art. Typically the conservative substitution is scored as a partial, rather than a full mismatch, thereby increasing the percentage sequence identity.

Mathematical algorithms can be used to determine the percent identity of two sequences. Non-limiting examples of mathematical algorithms are the algorithm of Karlin and Altschul (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:2264, modified as in Karlin and Altschul (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:5873-5877; the algorithm of Myers and Miller (1988) CABIOS 4:11-17; the local homology algorithm of Smith et al. (1981) Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482; the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (1970) J. Mol. Biol. 48:443-453; and the search-for-similarity-method of Pearson and Lipman (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:2444-2448.

Various computer implementations based on these mathematical algorithms have been designed to enable the determination of sequence identity. The BLAST programs of Altschul et al. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 215:403 are based on the algorithm of Karlin and Altschul (1990) supra. Searches to obtain nucleotide sequences that are homologous to nucleotide sequences of the present invention can be performed with the BLASTN program, score =100, wordlength =12. To obtain amino acid sequences homologous to sequences encoding a protein or polypeptide of the current invention, the BLASTX program can be used, score =50, wordlength =3. Gapped alignments can be obtained by using Gapped BLAST as described in Altschul et al. (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389. To detect distant relationships between molecules, PSI-BLAST can be used. See Altschul et al. (1997) supra. For all of the BLAST programs, the default parameters of the respective programs can be used.

Another program that can be used to determine percent sequence identity is the ALIGN program (version 2.0), which uses the mathematical algorithm of Myers and Miller (1988) supra. A PAM120 weight residue table, a gap length penalty of 12, and a gap penalty of 4 can be used with this program when comparing amino acid sequences.

In addition to the ALIGN and BLAST programs, the BESTFIT, GAP, FASTA and TFASTA programs are part of the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package (from GCG, Madison, Wis.), and can be used for performing sequence alignments. The preferred program is GAP version 10, which used the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (1970) supra. Unless otherwise stated, sequence identity/similarity values provided herein refer to the value obtained using GAP Version 10 using the following parameters: % identity and % similarity for a nucleotide sequence using GAP Weight of 50 and Length Weight of 3, and the nwsgapdna.cmp scoring matrix; % identity and % similarity for an amino acid sequence using GAP Weight of 8 and Length Weight of 2, and the BLOSUM62 scoring matrix; or any equivalent program thereof. Other equivalent programs can also be used. By “equivalent program” is meant any sequence comparison program that, for any two sequences in question, generates an alignment having identical nucleotide or amino acid residue matches and an identical percent sequence identity when compared to the corresponding alignment generated by GAP Version 10.

Identification and Isolation of Homologous Sequences

Nucleotide sequences identified based on their sequence identity to the nucleotide sequences set forth herein, or to fragments and variants thereof, are encompassed by the present invention. Methods such as PCR or hybridization can be used to identify sequences from a cDNA or genomic library, for example that are substantially identical to the sequences of the invention. See, for example, Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning: Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, N.Y.) and Innis, et al. (1990) PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications (Academic Press, NY). Methods for construction of such cDNA and genomic libraries are generally known in the art and are also disclosed in the above references.

In hybridization techniques, the hybridization probes can be genomic DNA fragments, cDNA fragments, RNA fragments, or other oligonucleotides, and can consist of all or part of a known nucleotide sequence disclosed herein. In addition, they can be labeled with a detectable group such as ³²P, or any other detectable marker, such as other radioisotopes, a fluorescence compound, an enzyme, or an enzyme co-factor. Probes for hybridization can be made by labeling synthetic oligonucleotides based on the known nucleotide sequences disclosed herein. Degenerate primers designed on the basis of conserved nucleotides or amino acid residues in a known nucleotide sequence or encoded amino acid sequence can additionally be used. The hybridization probe typically comprises a nucleotide sequence that hybridizes under stringent conditions to at least about 10, preferably about 20, more preferably about 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 350, or 400 consecutive nucleotides of a nucleic acid of the invention or a fragment or variant thereof. To achieve specific hybridization under a variety of conditions, such probes can include sequences that are unique with respect to the encoded amino acid sequence. Preparation of probes for hybridization is generally known in the art and is disclosed in Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, N.Y.), herein incorporated by reference.

In one embodiment, the entire nucleotide sequence encoding a protein is used as a probe to identify novel nucleic acid sequences and messenger RNAs. In another embodiment, the probe is a fragment of a nucleotide sequence disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence that hybridizes under stringent conditions to the probe can be at least about 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, or more nucleotides in length.

Substantially identical sequences will hybridize to each other under stringent conditions. By “stringent conditions” is meant conditions under which a probe will hybridize to its target sequence to a detectably greater degree than to other sequences (e.g., at least 2-fold over background). Generally, stringent conditions encompasses those conditions for hybridization and washing under which nucleotide sequences having at least about 60%, 65%, 70%, preferably 75% sequence identity typically remain hybridized to each other. Stringent conditions are known in the art and can be found in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (John Wiley & Sons, New York (1989)), 6.3.1-6.3.6.

Stringent conditions are sequence-dependent and will differ in different circumstances. Full-length or partial nucleic acid sequences can be used to obtain homologues and orthologs encompassed by the present invention. By “orthologs” are meant genes derived from a common ancestral gene and which are found in different species as a result of speciation. Genes found in different species are considered orthologs when their nucleotide sequences and/or their encoded protein sequences share substantial identity as defined elsewhere herein. Functions of orthologs are often highly conserved among species.

When using probes, stringent conditions will be those in which the salt concentration is less than about 1.5 M Na ion, typically about 0.01 to 1.0 M Na ion concentration (or other salts) at pH 7.0 to 8.3 and the temperature is at least about 30° C. for short probes (e.g., 10 to 50 nucleotides) and at least about 60° C. for long probes (e.g., greater than 50 nucleotides).

The post-hybridization washes are instrumental in controlling specificity. The two critical factors are ionic strength and temperature of the final wash solution. For the detection of sequences that hybridize to a full-length or approximately full-length target sequence, the temperature under stringent conditions is selected to be about 5° C. lower than the thermal melting point (T_(m)) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength and pH. However, stringent conditions would encompass temperatures in the range of 1° C. to 20° C. lower than the T_(m), depending on the desired degree of stringency as otherwise qualified herein. For DNA-DNA hybrids, the T_(m) can be determined using the equation of Meinkoth and Wahl (1984) Anal. Biochem. 138:267-284: T_(m)=81.5° C.+16.6 (logM)+0.41 (% GC)−0.61 (% form)−500/L; where M is the molarity of monovalent cations, % GC is the percentage of guanosine and cytosine nucleotides in the DNA, % form is the percentage of formamide in the hybridization solution, and L is the length of the hybrid in base pairs. The T_(m) is the temperature (under defined ionic strength and pH) at which 50% of a complementary target sequence hybridizes to a perfectly matched probe.

The ability to detect sequences with varying degrees of homology can be obtained by varying the stringency of the hybridization and/or washing conditions. To target sequences that are 100% identical (homologous probing), stringency conditions must be obtained that do not allow mismatching. By allowing mismatching of nucleotide residues to occur, sequences with a lower degree of similarity can be detected (heterologous probing). For every 1% of mismatching, the T_(m) is reduced about 1° C.; therefore, hybridization and/or wash conditions can be manipulated to allow hybridization of sequences of a target percentage identity. For example, if sequences with ≧90% sequence identity are preferred, the T_(m) can be decreased by 10° C. Two nucleotide sequences could be substantially identical, but fail to hybridize to each other under stringent conditions, if the polypeptides they encode are substantially identical. This situation could arise, for example, if the maximum codon degeneracy of the genetic code is used to create a copy of a nucleic acid.

Exemplary low stringency conditions include hybridization with a buffer solution of 30-35% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) at 37° C., and a wash in 1× to 2×SSC (20×SSC=3.0 M NaCl/0.3 M trisodium citrate) at 50 to 55° C. Exemplary moderate stringency conditions include hybridization in 40 to 45% formamide, 1.0 M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37° C., and a wash in 0.5× to 1×SSC at 55 to 60° C. Exemplary high stringency conditions include hybridization in 50% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37° C., and a wash in 0.1×SSC at 60 to 65° C. Optionally, wash buffers can comprise about 0.1% to about 1% SDS. Duration of hybridization is generally less than about 24 hours, usually about 4 to about 12 hours. An extensive guide to the hybridization of nucleic acids is found in Tijssen (1993) Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology—Hybridization with Nucleic Acid Probes, Part I, Chapter 2 (Elsevier, New York); and Ausubel et al., eds. (1995) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Chapter 2 (Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York). See Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning. A Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, N.Y.). All of these references are incorporated herein in their entireties.

In amplification protocols, such as a PCR approach, oligonucleotide primers can be designed for use in PCR reactions to amplify corresponding DNA sequences from cDNA or genomic DNA extracted from any organism of interest. PCR primers are preferably at least about 10 or 15 nucleotides in length, and most preferably at least about 20, 25 or 30 nucleotides in length. Methods for designing PCR primers and PCR cloning are generally known in the art and are disclosed in Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, N.Y.). See also Innis et al., eds. (1990) PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications (Academic Press, New York); Innis and Gelfand, eds. (1995) PCR Strategies (Academic Press, New York); and Innis and Gelfand, eds. (1999) PCR Methods Manual (Academic Press, New York). Known methods of PCR include, but are not limited to, methods using paired primers, nested primers, single specific primers, degenerate primers, gene-specific primers, vector-specific primers, partially-mismatched primers, and the like.

Assays

Assays to detect expression of the disclosed polypeptides and/or nucleic acid molecules as well as their disclosed activity in a sample are provided herein. An exemplary method for detecting the presence or absence of a disclosed nucleic acid or protein comprising the disclosed polypeptide in a sample involves obtaining a sample from a food/dairy/feed product, starter culture (mother, seed, bulk/set, concentrated, dried, lyophilized, frozen), cultured food/dairy/feed product, dietary supplement, bioprocessing fermentate, or a subject that has ingested a probiotic material, and contacting the sample with a compound or an agent capable of interacting with the disclosed polypeptides or nucleic acids (e.g., an mRNA or genomic DNA comprising the disclosed nucleic acid or fragment thereof) in a manner such that the presence of the disclosed nucleic acid or protein is detected in the sample. Results obtained with a sample from the food, supplement, culture, product or subject can be compared to results obtained with a sample from a control, food, supplement culture, product or subject.

In some embodiments, one agent for detecting an mRNA or genomic DNA comprising a disclosed nucleotide sequence is a labeled nucleic acid probe capable of hybridizing to the disclosed nucleotide sequence of the mRNA or genomic DNA. The nucleic acid probe can be, for example, a disclosed nucleic acid molecule, such as a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NOS:1 or 3 or a fragment or variant thereof or odd numbered SEQ ID NO:5-36 or a variant or fragment thereof, such as a nucleic acid molecule of at least 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 400, or 500 nucleotides in length, including any number between 5 and 500 not specifically recited herein (e.g., 16, 34, 172), and sufficient to specifically hybridize under stringent conditions to the mRNA or genomic DNA comprising the disclosed nucleotide sequence. Other suitable probes for use in the assays of the invention are described herein.

In other embodiments, one agent for detecting a protein comprising a disclosed amino acid sequence is an antibody capable of binding to the disclosed polypeptide, preferably an antibody with a detectable label or capable of being detected. Antibodies can be polyclonal, or more preferably, monoclonal. An intact antibody, or a fragment thereof (e.g., Fab or F(ab′)₂) can be used. The term “labeled,” with regard to a probe or antibody, is meant to encompass direct labeling of the probe or antibody by coupling (i.e., physically linking) a detectable substance to the probe or antibody, as well as indirect labeling of the probe or antibody by reactivity with another (i.e., secondary) reagent that is directly labeled. Examples of indirect labeling include detection of a primary antibody using a fluorescently labeled secondary antibody and end-labeling of a DNA probe with biotin such that it can be detected with fluorescently labeled streptavidin.

The term “sample” is meant to include tissues, cells, and biological fluids present in or isolated from a subject, as well as cells from starter cultures or food products carrying such cultures, or derived from the use of such cultures. That is, the detection methods of the invention can be used to detect nucleic acid or protein of this invention in a sample both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro techniques for detection of mRNA comprising a disclosed sequence include Northern hybridizations and in situ hybridizations. In vitro techniques for detection of a protein comprising a disclosed amino acid sequence include enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), Western blots, immunoprecipitations, and immunofluorescence. In vitro techniques for detection of DNA comprising the disclosed nucleotide sequences include Southern hybridizations. Furthermore, in vivo techniques for detection of a protein comprising a disclosed amino acid sequence include introducing into a subject a labeled antibody against the disclosed polypeptide. For example, the antibody can be labeled with a radioactive marker whose presence and location in a subject can be detected by standard imaging techniques.

In one embodiment, the sample contains protein molecules from a test subject that has consumed a probiotic material. Alternatively, the sample can contain mRNA or genomic DNA from a starter culture.

The invention also encompasses kits for detecting the presence of disclosed nucleic acids or proteins in a sample. Such kits can be used to determine if a microbe expressing a specific polypeptide of the invention is present in a food product or starter culture, or in a subject that has consumed a probiotic material. For example, the kit can comprise a labeled compound or agent capable of detecting a disclosed polypeptide or nucleic acid in a sample and means for determining the amount of a the disclosed polypeptide or nucleic acid in the sample (e.g., an antibody that recognizes the disclosed polypeptide or an oligonucleotide probe that binds to DNA encoding a disclosed polypeptide, e.g., as set forth in SEQ ID NOS:2 or 4, or SEQ ID NOS:5-36). Kits can also include instructions detailing the use of such compounds.

For antibody-based kits, the kit can comprise, for example: (1) a first antibody (e.g., attached to a solid support) that binds to a disclosed polypeptide; and, optionally, (2) a second, different antibody that binds to the disclosed polypeptide or the first antibody and is conjugated to a detectable agent. For oligonucleotide-based kits, the kit can comprise, for example: (1) an oligonucleotide, e.g., a detectably labeled oligonucleotide, that hybridizes to a disclosed nucleic acid sequence or (2) a pair of primers useful for amplifying a disclosed nucleic acid molecule, and optionally a probe for detecting the amplification product.

The kit can also comprise, e.g., a buffering agent, a preservative, or a protein stabilizing agent. The kit can also comprise components necessary for detecting the detectable agent (e.g., an enzyme or a substrate). The kit can also contain a control sample or a series of control samples that can be assayed and compared to the test sample contained. Each component of the kit is usually enclosed within an individual container, and all of the various containers are within a single package along with instructions for use.

In one embodiment, the kit comprises multiple probes in an array format, such as those described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,412,087, 5,545,531, and PCT Publication No. WO 95/00530, herein incorporated by reference. Probes for use in the array can be synthesized either directly onto the surface of the array, as disclosed in PCT Publication No. WO 95/00530, or prior to immobilization onto the array surface (Gait, ed., Oligonucleotide synthesis a practical approach, IRL Press: Oxford, England, 1984). The probes can be immobilized onto the surface using techniques well known to one of skill in the art, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,087. Probes can be a nucleic acid or peptide sequence, preferably purified, or an antibody.

The arrays can be used to screen organisms, samples, or products for differences in their genomic, cDNA, polypeptide or antibody content, including the presence or absence of specific sequences or proteins, as well as the concentration of those materials. Binding to a capture probe is detected, for example, by signal generated from a label attached to the nucleic acid molecule comprising the disclosed nucleotide sequence, a polypeptide comprising the disclosed amino acid sequence, or an antibody. The method can include contacting the molecule comprising the disclosed nucleic acid, polypeptide, or antibody with a first array having a plurality of capture probes and a second array having a different plurality of capture probes. The results of each hybridization can be compared to analyze differences in expression between a first and second sample. The first plurality of capture probes can be from a control sample, e.g., a wild type lactic acid bacteria, or control subject, e.g., a food, dietary supplement, starter culture sample or a biological fluid. The second plurality of capture probes can be from an experimental sample, e.g., a mutant type lactic acid bacteria, or subject that has consumed a probiotic material, e.g., a starter culture sample or a biological fluid.

These assays can be especially useful in microbial selection and quality control procedures where the detection of unwanted materials is essential. The detection of particular nucleotide sequences or polypeptides can also be useful in determining the genetic composition of food, fermentation products, or industrial microbes, or microbes present in the digestive system of animals or humans that have consumed probiotics.

Antisense Nucleotide Sequences

The present invention also encompasses antisense nucleic acid molecules, i.e., molecules that are complementary to a sense nucleic acid encoding a protein, e.g., complementary to the coding strand of a double-stranded cDNA molecule, or complementary to an mRNA sequence. Accordingly, an antisense nucleic acid can hydrogen bond to a sense nucleic acid. The antisense nucleic acid can be complementary to an entire coding strand, or to only a portion thereof, e.g., all or part of the protein coding region (or open reading frame). An antisense nucleic acid molecule can be antisense to a noncoding region of the coding strand of a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein. The noncoding regions are the 5′ and 3′ sequences that flank the coding region and are not translated into amino acids. Antisense nucleotide sequences are useful in disrupting the expression of the target gene. Antisense constructions having 70% or 75%, preferably 80%, and more preferably 85% or 90% sequence identity to the corresponding sequence can be used.

Given the coding-strand sequence encoding a polypeptide disclosed herein (e.g., SEQ ID NO:2 or 4 or even numbered SEQ ID NOS:5-36), antisense nucleic acids of the invention can be designed according to the rules of Watson and Crick base pairing. The antisense nucleic acid molecule can be complementary to the entire coding region of a mRNA, but more preferably is an oligonucleotide that is antisense to only a portion of the coding or noncoding region of a mRNA. For example, the antisense oligonucleotide can be complementary to the region surrounding the translation start site of an mRNA. An antisense oligonucleotide can be, for example, about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450 or 500 nucleotides in length, or it can be 100, 200 nucleotides, or greater in length. An antisense nucleic acid of the invention can be constructed using chemical synthesis and enzymatic ligation procedures known in the art.

For example, an antisense nucleic acid (e.g., an antisense oligonucleotide) can be chemically synthesized using naturally occurring nucleotides or variously modified nucleotides designed to increase the biological stability of the molecules or to increase the physical stability of the duplex formed between the antisense and sense nucleic acids, including, but not limited to, for example e.g., phosphorothioate derivatives and acridine substituted nucleotides. Alternatively, the antisense nucleic acid can be produced biologically using an expression vector into which a nucleic acid has been subcloned in an antisense orientation (i.e., RNA transcribed from the inserted nucleic acid will be of an antisense orientation to a target nucleic acid of interest).

An antisense nucleic acid molecule of the invention can be an α-anomeric nucleic acid molecule. An α-anomeric nucleic acid molecule forms specific double-stranded hybrids with complementary RNA in which, contrary to the usual β-units, the strands run parallel to each other (Gaultier et al. (1987) Nucleic Acids Res. 15:6625-6641). The antisense nucleic acid molecule can also comprise a 2′-o-methylribonucleotide (Inoue et al. (1987) Nucleic Acids Res. 15:6131-6148) or a chimeric RNA-DNA analogue (Inoue et al. (1987) FEBS Lett. 215:327-330).

The invention also encompasses ribozymes, which are catalytic RNA molecules with ribonuclease activity that are capable of cleaving a single-stranded nucleic acid, such as an mRNA, to which they have a complementary region. Ribozymes (e.g., hammerhead ribozymes (described in Haselhoff and Gerlach (1988) Nature 334:585-591)) can be used to catalytically cleave mRNA transcripts to thereby inhibit translation of mRNA. A ribozyme having specificity for an encoding nucleic acid can be designed based upon the nucleotide sequence of a nucleotide disclosed herein (e.g., odd numbered SEQ ID NOS:1-2556). See, e.g., Cech et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,071; and Cech et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,742. Alternatively, mRNA can be used to select a catalytic RNA having a specific ribonuclease activity from a pool of RNA molecules. See, e.g., Bartel and Szostak (1993) Science 261:1411-1418.

The invention also encompasses nucleic acid molecules that form triple helical structures. For example, gene expression can be inhibited by targeting nucleotide sequences complementary to the regulatory region of the protein (e.g., the promoter and/or enhancers) to form triple helical structures that prevent transcription of the gene in target cells. See generally Helene (1991) Anticancer Drug Des. 6(6):569; Helene (1992) Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 660:27; and Maher (1992) Bioassays 14(12):807.

In some embodiments, the nucleic acid molecules of the invention can be modified at the base moiety, sugar moiety, or phosphate backbone to improve, e.g., the stability, hybridization, or solubility of the molecule. For example, the deoxyribose phosphate backbone of the nucleic acids can be modified to generate peptide nucleic acids (see Hyrup et al. (1996) Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 4:5). As used herein, the terms “peptide nucleic acids” or “PNAs” refer to nucleic acid mimics, e.g., DNA mimics, in which the deoxyribose phosphate backbone is replaced by a pseudopeptide backbone and only the four natural nucleobases are retained. The neutral backbone of PNAs has been shown to allow for specific hybridization to DNA and RNA under conditions of low ionic strength. The synthesis of PNA oligomers can be performed using standard solid-phase peptide synthesis protocols as described, for example, in Hyrup et al. (1996), supra; Perry-O'Keefe et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:14670.

PNAs can be used as antisense or antigene agents for sequence-specific modulation of gene expression by, e.g., inducing transcription or translation arrest or inhibiting replication. PNAs of the invention can also be used, e.g., in the analysis of single base pair mutations in a gene by, e.g., PNA-directed PCR clamping; as artificial restriction enzymes when used in combination with other enzymes, e.g., S1 nucleases (Hyrup (1996), supra); or as probes or primers for DNA sequence and hybridization (Hyrup (1996), supra; Perry-O'Keefe et al. (1996), supra).

In another embodiment, PNAs of a molecule can be modified, e.g., to enhance their stability, specificity, or cellular uptake, by attaching lipophilic or other helper groups to PNA, by the formation of PNA-DNA chimeras, or by the use of liposomes or other techniques of drug delivery known in the art. The synthesis of PNA-DNA chimeras can be performed as described in Hyrup (1996), supra; Finn et al. (1996) Nucleic Acids Res. 24(17):3357-63; Mag et al. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17:5973; and Peterson et al. (1975) Bioorganic Med. Chem. Lett. 5:1119.

Fusion Proteins

The invention also includes chimeric or fusion proteins. A “chimeric protein” or “fusion protein” comprises a first polypeptide operably linked (e.g., fused in-frame) to a second polypeptide. A “first polypeptide” refers to a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence corresponding to a first protein, whereas a “second polypeptide” refers to a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence corresponding to a protein that is not substantially identical to the first protein, and which is derived from the same or a different organism. Within a fusion protein, the polypeptide can correspond to all or a portion of a protein, preferably including at least one biologically active portion of a protein. Within the fusion protein, the term “operably linked” is meant to indicate that the first polypeptide and the second polypeptide are fused in-frame to each other. The second polypeptide can be fused to the N-terminus or C-terminus of the first polypeptide.

Expression of the linked coding sequences results in two linked heterologous amino acid sequences which form the fusion protein. The carrier sequence (the second polypeptide) encodes a carrier polypeptide that, for example, potentiates or increases expression of the fusion protein in the bacterial host. The portion of the fusion protein encoded by the carrier sequence, i.e., the carrier polypeptide, can be a protein fragment, an entire functional moiety, or an entire protein sequence. The carrier region or polypeptide can additionally be designed to be used in purifying the fusion protein, either with antibodies or with affinity purification specific for that carrier polypeptide. Likewise, physical properties of the carrier polypeptide can be exploited to allow selective purification of the fusion protein.

Particular carrier polypeptides of interest include superoxide dismutase (SOD), maltose-binding protein (MBP), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), an N-terminal histidine (His) tag, and the like. This list is not intended to be limiting, as any carrier polypeptide that potentiates expression of the protein as a fusion protein can be used in the methods of the invention.

In one embodiment, the fusion protein is a GST-fusion protein in which the sequences are fused to the C-terminus of the GST sequences. In another embodiment, the fusion protein is an immunoglobulin fusion protein in which all or part of a protein is fused to sequences derived from a member of the immunoglobulin protein family. The immunoglobulin fusion proteins of the invention can be used as immunogens to produce antibodies in a subject, to purify ligands, and in screening assays to identify molecules that inhibit the interaction of a protein with a ligand.

In one embodiment of the invention, the fusion protein has the ability to modify the functional properties of a bacterial cell. By “functional properties” is meant a bacterium's ability to perform certain non-native functions, such as those, for example, related to adhesion, immune stimulation, or lysis. The protein can include, but is not limited to, an antibody, an enzyme, an antigen, a protein with bactericidal activity, or a protein with receptor-binding activity. By “bactericidal activity” is meant the ability to kill one or more bacteria. By “receptor-binding activity” is meant the ability to bind to a receptor on a cell membrane, cell surface, or in solution. Methods to assess the ability of a fusion protein expressed on the surface of gram-positive bacteria to be used as a vaccine are known in the art (see, for example, Fischetti et al. (1996) Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 7:659-666; Pouwels et al. (1998) Int. J. Food Microbiol. 41:155-167).

One of skill in the art will recognize that the particular carrier polypeptide can be chosen with the purification scheme in mind. For example, His tags, GST, and maltose-binding protein represent carrier polypeptides that have readily available affinity columns to which they can be bound and eluted. Thus, where the carrier polypeptide is an N-terminal His tag such as hexahistidine (His₆ tag), the fusion protein can be purified using a matrix comprising a metal-chelating resin, for example, nickel nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA), nickel iminodiacetic acid (Ni-IDA), and cobalt-containing resin (Co-resin). See, for example, Steinert et al. (1997) QIAGEN News 4:11-15, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Where the carrier polypeptide is GST, the fusion protein can be purified using a matrix comprising glutathione-agarose beads (Sigma or Pharmacia Biotech); where the carrier polypeptide is a maltose-binding protein (MBP), the fusion protein can be purified using a matrix comprising an agarose resin derivatized with amylose.

Preferably, a chimeric or fusion protein of the invention is produced by standard recombinant DNA techniques. For example, DNA fragments coding for the different polypeptide sequences can be ligated together in-frame, or the fusion nucleotide sequence can be synthesized, such as with automated DNA synthesizers. Alternatively, PCR amplification of nucleic acid fragments can be carried out using anchor primers that give rise to complementary overhangs between two consecutive nucleic acid fragments, which can subsequently be annealed and re-amplified to generate a chimeric nucleotide sequence (see, e.g., Ausubel et al., eds. (1995) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology) (Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, NY). Moreover, a FOS-related-protein-encoding nucleic acid can be cloned into a commercially available expression vector such that it is linked in-frame to an existing fusion moiety.

The fusion protein expression vector is typically designed for ease of removing the carrier polypeptide to allow the protein to retain the native biological activity associated with it. Methods for cleavage of fusion proteins are known in the art. See, for example, Ausubel et al., eds. (1998) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Chemical cleavage of the fusion protein can be accomplished with reagents such as cyanogen bromide, 2-(2-nitrophenylsulphenyl)-3-methyl-3′-bromoindolenine, hydroxylamine, or low pH. Chemical cleavage is often accomplished under denaturing conditions to cleave otherwise insoluble fusion proteins.

Where separation of the polypeptide from the carrier polypeptide is desired and a cleavage site at the junction between these fused polypeptides is not naturally occurring, the fusion construct can be designed to contain a specific protease cleavage site to facilitate enzymatic cleavage and removal of the carrier polypeptide. In this manner, a linker sequence comprising a coding sequence for a peptide that has a cleavage site. specific for an enzyme of interest can be fused in-frame between the coding sequence for the carrier polypeptide (for example, MBP, GST, SOD, or an N-terminal His tag) and the coding sequence for the polypeptide. Suitable enzymes having specificity for cleavage sites include, but are not limited to, factor Xa, thrombin, enterokinase, remin, collagenase, and tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease. Cleavage sites for these enzymes are well known in the art. Thus, for example, where factor Xa is to be used to cleave the carrier polypeptide from the polypeptide, the fusion construct can be designed to comprise a linker sequence encoding a factor Xa-sensitive cleavage site, for example, the sequence IEGR (see, for example, Nagai and Thøgersen (1984) Nature 309:810-812, Nagai and Thøgersen (1987) Meth. Enzymol. 153:461-481, and Pryor and Leiting (1997) Protein Expr. Purif 10(3):309-319, herein incorporated by reference). Where thrombin is to be used to cleave the carrier polypeptide from the polypeptide, the fusion construct can be designed to comprise a linker sequence encoding a thrombin-sensitive cleavage site, for example the sequence LVPRGS or VIAGR (see, for example, Pryor and Leiting (1997) Protein Expr. Purif. 10(3):309-319, and Hong et al. (1997) Chin. Med. Sci. J. 12(3): 143-147, respectively, herein incorporated by reference). Cleavage sites for TEV protease are known in the art. See, for example, the cleavage sites described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,142, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. See also the discussion in Ausubel et al., eds. (1998) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), Chapter 16.

Antibodies

An isolated polypeptide of the present invention can be used as an immunogen to generate antibodies that specifically bind proteins, or stimulate production of antibodies in vivo. The full-length protein can be used as an immunogen or, alternatively, antigenic peptide fragments of proteins as described herein can be used. The antigenic peptide of a protein can comprise at least 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, or 50 amino acid residues, or any number in between 5 and 50 not specifically recited herein (e.g., 12, 27, 43) of the amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOS:2 or 4 or even numbered SEQ ID NO:5-36 or variants and fragments thereof and encompasses an epitope of an protein such that an antibody raised against the peptide forms a specific immune complex with the protein. Preferred epitopes encompassed by the antigenic peptide are regions of a protein that are located on the surface of the protein, e.g., hydrophilic regions.

Recombinant Expression Vectors

The nucleic acid molecules of the present invention can be included in vectors, preferably expression vectors. “Vector” refers to a nucleic acid molecule capable of transporting another nucleic acid to which it has been linked. Expression vectors include one or more regulatory sequences and direct the expression of nucleic acids to which they are operably linked. By “operably linked” is meant that the nucleotide sequence of interest is linked to the regulatory sequence(s) such that expression of the nucleotide sequence is allowed (e.g., in an in vitro transcription/translation system or in a cell when the vector is introduced into the cell). As used herein, “heterologous” in reference to a sequence is a sequence that originates from a foreign species, or, if from the same species, is substantially modified from its native form in composition and/or genomic locus by deliberate human intervention. For example, a promoter operably linked to a heterologous polynucleotide is from a species different from the species from which the polynucleotide was derived, or, if from the same/analogous species, one or both are substantially modified from their original form and/or genomic locus, or the promoter is not the native promoter for the operably linked polynucleotide. The term “regulatory sequence” is meant to include, for example, controllable transcriptional promoters, operators, enhancers, transcriptional terminators, and/or other expression control elements such as translational control sequences (e.g., Shine-Dalgarno consensus sequence, initiation and termination codons). These regulatory sequences will differ, for example, depending on the cell being used.

The vectors can be autonomously replicated in a cell (episomal vectors), or can be integrated into the genome of a cell, and replicated along with the cell's genome (non-episomal mammalian vectors). Integrating vectors typically contain at least one sequence homologous to the bacterial chromosome that allows for recombination to occur between homologous DNA in the vector and the bacterial chromosome. Integrating vectors can also comprise bacteriophage or transposon sequences. Episomal vectors, or plasmids are circular double-stranded DNA loops into which additional DNA segments can be ligated. Plasmids capable of stable maintenance in a host are generally the preferred form of expression vectors when using recombinant DNA techniques.

The expression constructs or vectors encompassed in the present invention comprise a nucleic acid construct of the invention in a form suitable for expression of the nucleic acid in a cell. Expression in prokaryotic cells is encompassed in the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the design of the expression vector can depend on such factors as the choice of the cell to be transformed, the level of production of protein desired, etc. The expression vectors of the invention can be introduced into cells to thereby produce proteins or peptides, including fusion proteins or peptides, encoded by nucleic acids as described herein (e.g., proteins, mutant forms of proteins, fusion proteins, etc.).

Regulatory sequences include those that direct constitutive expression of a nucleotide sequence as well as those that direct inducible expression of the nucleotide sequence only under certain conditions. A bacterial promoter is any DNA sequence capable of binding bacterial RNA polymerase and initiating the downstream (3′) transcription of a coding sequence (e.g., structural gene) into mRNA. A promoter will have a transcription initiation region, which is usually placed proximal to the 5′ end of the coding sequence. This transcription initiation region typically includes an RNA polymerase binding site and a transcription initiation site. A bacterial promoter can also have a second domain called an operator, which can overlap an adjacent RNA polymerase binding site at which RNA synthesis begins. The operator permits negative regulated (inducible) transcription, as a gene repressor protein can bind the operator and thereby inhibit transcription of a specific gene. Constitutive expression can occur in the absence of negative regulatory elements, such as the operator. In addition, positive regulation can be achieved by a gene activator protein binding sequence, which, if present is usually proximal (5′) to the RNA polymerase binding sequence.

An example of a gene activator protein is the catabolite activator protein (CAP), which helps initiate transcription of the lac operon in Escherichia coli (Raibaud et al. (1984) Annu. Rev. Genet. 18:173). Regulated expression can therefore be either positive or negative, thereby either enhancing or reducing transcription. Other examples of positive and negative regulatory elements are well known in the art. Various promoters that can be included in the protein expression system include, but are not limited to, a T7/LacO hybrid promoter, a trp promoter, a T7 promoter, a lac promoter, and a bacteriophage lambda promoter. Any suitable promoter can be used to carry out the present invention, including the native promoter or a heterologous promoter. Heterologous promoters can be constitutively active or inducible. A non-limiting example of a heterologous promoter is given in U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,194 to Kullen and Klaenhammer.

Sequences encoding metabolic pathway enzymes provide particularly useful promoter sequences. Examples include promoter sequences derived from sugar metabolizing enzymes, such as galactose, lactose (lac) (Chang et al. (1987) Nature 198:1056), and maltose. Additional examples include promoter sequences derived from biosynthetic enzymes such as tryptophan (trp) (Goeddel et al. (1980) Nucleic Acids Res. 8:4057; Yelverton et al. (1981) Nucleic Acids Res. 9:731; U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,921; EPO Publication Nos. 36,776 and 121,775). The beta-lactamase (bla) promoter system (Weissmann (1981) “The Cloning of Interferon and Other Mistakes,” in Interferon 3 (ed. I. Gresser); bacteriophage lambda PL (Shimatake et al. (1981) Nature 292:128); the arabinose-inducible araB promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,530); and T5 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,406) promoter systems also provide useful promoter sequences. See also Balbas (2001) Mol. Biotech. 19:251-267, where E. coli expression systems are discussed.

In addition, synthetic promoters that do not occur in nature also function as bacterial promoters. For example, transcription activation sequences of one bacterial or bacteriophage promoter can be joined with the operon sequences of another bacterial or bacteriophage promoter, creating a synthetic hybrid promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,433). For example, the tac (Amann et al. (1983) Gene 25:167; de Boer et al. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 80:21) and trc (Brosius et al. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260:3539-3541) promoters are hybrid trp-lac promoters comprised of both trp promoter and lac operon sequences that are regulated by the lac repressor. The tac promoter has the additional feature of being an inducible regulatory sequence. Thus, for example, expression of a coding sequence operably linked to the tac promoter can be induced in a cell culture by adding isopropyl-1-thio-β-D-galactoside (IPTG). Furthermore, a bacterial promoter can include naturally occurring promoters of non-bacterial origin that have the ability to bind bacterial RNA polymerase and initiate transcription. A naturally occurring promoter of non-bacterial origin can also be coupled with a compatible RNA polymerase to produce high levels of expression of some genes in prokaryotes. The bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase/promoter system is an example of a coupled promoter system (Studier et al. (1986) J. Mol. Biol. 189:113; Tabor et al. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 82:1074). In addition, a hybrid promoter can also be comprised of a bacteriophage promoter and an E. coli operator region (EPO Publication No. 267,851).

The vector can additionally comprise a nucleic acid encoding the repressor (or inducer) for that promoter. For example, an inducible vector of the present invention can regulate transcription from the Lac operator (LacO) by expressing a nucleic acid encoding the LacI repressor protein. Other examples include the use of the lexA gene to regulate expression of pRecA, and the use of trpO to regulate ptrp. Alleles of such genes that increase the extent of repression (e.g., lacIq) or that modify the manner of induction (e.g., λ.CI857, rendering λ.pL thermo-inducible, or λ.CI+, rendering λ.pL chemo-inducible) can be employed.

In addition to a functioning promoter sequence, an efficient ribosome-binding site is also useful for the expression of the fusion construct. In prokaryotes, the ribosome binding site is called the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence and includes an initiation codon (ATG) and a sequence 3-9 nucleotides in length located 3-11 nucleotides upstream of the initiation codon (Shine et al. (1975) Nature 254:34). The SD sequence is thought to promote binding of mRNA to the ribosome by the pairing of bases between the SD sequence and the 3′ end of bacterial 16S rRNA (Steitz et al. (1979) “Genetic Signals and Nucleotide Sequences in Messenger RNA,” in Biological Regulation and Development: Gene Expression (ed. R. F. Goldberger, Plenum Press, NY).

Proteins can also be secreted from the cell by creating chimeric DNA molecules that encode a protein comprising a signal peptide sequence that provides for secretion of the polypeptide in bacteria (U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,336). The signal sequence fragment typically encodes a signal peptide comprised of hydrophobic amino acids that directs the secretion of the protein from the cell. The protein is either secreted into the growth medium (Gram-positive bacteria) or into the periplasmic space, located between the inner and outer membrane of the cell (gram-negative bacteria). Preferably there are processing sites, which can be cleaved either in vivo or in vitro, encoded between the signal peptide sequence and the protein.

DNA encoding suitable signal sequences can be derived from genes for secreted bacterial proteins, such as the E. coli outer membrane protein gene (ompA) (Masui et al. (1983) FEBS Lett. 151(1):159-164; Ghrayeb et al. (1984) EMBO J. 3:2437-2442) and the E. coli alkaline phosphatase signal sequence (phoA) (Oka et al. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 82:7212). Other prokaryotic signals include, for example, the signal sequence from penicillinase, Ipp, or heat stable enterotoxin II leaders.

Typically, transcription termination sequences recognized by bacteria are regulatory regions located 3′ to the translation stop codon and thus, together with the promoter, flank the coding sequence. These sequences direct the transcription of mRNA that can be translated into the polypeptide encoded by the DNA. Transcription termination sequences frequently include DNA sequences (of about 50 nucleotides) that are capable of forming stem loop structures that aid in terminating transcription. Examples include transcription termination sequences derived from genes with strong promoters, such as the trp gene in E. coli as well as other biosynthetic genes.

The expression vectors will have a plurality of restriction sites for insertion of the sequence so that it is under transcriptional regulation of the regulatory regions. Selectable marker genes that ensure maintenance of the vector in the cell can also be included in the expression vector. Examples of selectable markers include those that confer resistance to drugs such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, kanamycin (neomycin), and tetracycline (Davies et al. (1978) Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 32:469). Selectable markers can also allow a cell to grow on minimal medium, or in the presence of toxic metabolites and can include biosynthetic genes, such as those in the histidine, tryptophan, and leucine biosynthetic pathways.

As used herein, “heterologous” in reference to a sequence is a sequence that originates from a foreign species, or, if from the same species, is substantially modified from its native form in composition and/or genomic locus by deliberate human intervention. For example, a promoter operably linked to a heterologous polynucleotide is from a species different from the species from which the polynucleotide was derived, or, if from the same/analogous species, one or both are substantially modified from their original form and/or genomic locus, or the promoter is not the native promoter for the operably linked polynucleotide.

The regulatory regions can be native (homologous), or can be foreign (heterologous) to the cell and/or the nucleotide sequence of the invention. The regulatory regions can also be natural or synthetic. Where the region is “foreign” or “heterologous” to the nucleotide sequence of the invention, it is meant that the region is not the native or naturally occurring region for the operably linked nucleotide sequence of the invention. For example, the region can be derived from phage. While sequences can be expressed using heterologous regulatory regions, native regions can be used. Such constructs would be expected in some cases to alter expression levels of proteins in the cell. Thus, the phenotype of the cell can be altered.

In preparing the expression cassette, the various DNA fragments can be manipulated, so as to provide for the DNA sequences in the proper orientation and, as appropriate, in the proper reading frame. Toward this end, adapters or linkers can be employed to join the DNA fragments or other manipulations can be involved to provide for convenient restriction sites, removal of superfluous DNA, removal of restriction sites, or the like. For this purpose, in vitro mutagenesis, primer repair, restriction, annealing, resubstitutions, e.g., transitions and transversions, may be involved.

The invention further provides a recombinant expression vector comprising a DNA molecule of the invention cloned into the expression vector in an antisense orientation. That is, the DNA molecule is operably linked to a regulatory sequence in a manner that allows for expression (by transcription of the DNA molecule) of an RNA molecule that is antisense to mRNA. Regulatory sequences operably linked to a nucleic acid cloned in the antisense orientation can be chosen to direct the continuous or inducible expression of the antisense RNA molecule. The antisense expression vector can be in the form of a recombinant plasmid or phagemid in which antisense nucleic acids are produced under the control of a high efficiency regulatory region, the activity of which can be determined by the cell type into which the vector is introduced. For a discussion of the regulation of gene expression using antisense genes see Weintraub et al. (1986) Reviews—Trends in Genetics, Vol. 1(1).

Alternatively, some of the above-described components can be put together in transformation vectors. Transformation vectors are typically comprised of a selectable market that is either maintained in a replicon or developed into an integrating vector, as described above.

Microbial or Bacterial Cells

The production of bacteria containing the nucleic acid sequences or proteins of this invention, the preparation of starter cultures of such bacteria, and methods of fermenting substrates, particularly food substrates such as milk, can be carried out in accordance with known techniques. (See, for example, Gilliland, S. E. (ed) Bacterial Starter Cultures for Food, CRC press, 1985, 205 pp.; Read, G. (Ed.) Prescott and Dunn's Industrial Microbiology, 4^(th) Ed., AVI Publishing Company, Inc. 1982, 883 pp.; Peppler, J. J. and Perlman, D. (Eds.) Microbial Technology: Volume II, Fermentation Technology, Academic Press, 1979, 536 pp.)

By “fermenting” is meant the energy-yielding, metabolic breakdown of organic compounds by microorganisms that generally proceed under anaerobic conditions and with the evolution of gas.

By “introducing” as it pertains to nucleic acid molecules is meant introduction into cells (e.g., prokaryotic cells) via conventional transformation or transfection techniques, or by phage-mediated infection. As used herein, the terms “transformation,” “transduction,” “conjugation,” and “protoplast fusion” are intended to refer to a variety of art-recognized techniques for introducing foreign nucleic acid (e.g., DNA) into a cell, including calcium phosphate or calcium chloride co-precipitation, DEAE-dextran-mediated transfection, lipofection, or electroporation. Suitable methods for transforming or transfecting cells can be found in Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, N.Y.) and other laboratory manuals. By “introducing” as it pertains to polypeptides or microorganisms of the invention, is meant introduction into a host by ingestion, topical application, nasal, urogenital, suppository, or oral application of the polypeptide or microorganism.

Bacterial cells used to produce the polypeptides of this invention are cultured in suitable medium, as described generally in Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, N.Y.).

Modulating Oxalate Degradation

Methods and compositions for degrading oxalate are provided. Oxalate is catabolized through a series of enzymatic reactions. Two general mechanisms for oxalate degradation include decarboxylation to yield formic acid and CO₂ and oxidation to yield hydrogen peroxide and CO₂. The decarboxylation process can be accomplished either aerobically or anaerobically, while the oxidation process is strictly aerobic. In the decarboxlation reaction, oxalate is reduced by a formyl coenzyme A transferase (formyl-CoA transferase; E.C. 2.8.3) which activates the oxalate molecule by cycling a CoA moiety from formyl-CoA. Next, the oxalyl-coenzyme A decarboxylase (oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase; E.C. 4.1.1.8) decarboxylates the activated oxalate molecule. As demonstrated herein, this pathway of oxalate degradation has now been identified in Lactobacillus acidophilus. FIG. 2 provides a schematic of this oxalate degradation pathway. Accordingly, the present invention provides methods and compositions related to modulating oxalate degradation.

Compositions comprising the oxalate degrading polynucleotides and polypeptides set forth in SEQ ID NOS:1 and 2 are provided. SEQ ID NOS:1 and 2 encode a member of the formyl-CoA transferase family. As used herein, “formyl-CoA transferase activity” catalyzes the transfer of CoA from formyl-CoA to either oxalate or succinate. Methods to assay for this activity are known. See, for example, Baetz et al. (1990) Journal of Bacteriology 172:3537-3540, herein incorporated by reference. These sequences, along with variant and fragments thereof, can be used to modulate the oxalate degrading activity of an organism of interest.

Further provided are compositions comprising the oxalate degrading polynucleotides and polypeptides set forth in SEQ ID NOS:3 and 4. SEQ ID NOS:3 and 4 encode an oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase. As used herein, polypeptides having “oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase activity” decarboxylates the activated oxalate molecule. Methods to assay for this activity are known. For example, the consumption of oxalyl-CoA and the production of formyl-CoA can be monitored by capillary electrophoresis. See, for example, Federici et al. (2004) Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70:5066-5073 and Lung et al. (1994) Journal of Bacteriology 176:2468-2472, each of which is herein incorporated by reference. These sequences, along with variants and fragments thereof, can be used to modulate the oxalate degrading activity of an organism of interest.

Compositions of the invention further include various polynucleotides and polypeptides that are differentially expressed in Lactobacillus acidophilius in response to 1% ammonium oxalate at pH 6.8. Such polypeptides and polynucleotides are set forth in SEQ ID NOS:5-36. In one embodiment, such sequences can find use in modulating oxalate degradation or any other method disclosed herein.

As used herein, the terms “oxalate degrading” and “oxalate reducing” activity are interchangeable and both refer to the reduction or degradation of oxalate. Oxalate degrading activity includes formyl-CoA transferase activity, oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase activity, or any activity employed in an enzymatic pathway that decreases the level of oxalate in a sample. As defined herein “modulating oxalate degradation” is intended any statistically significant increase or decrease in oxalate levels in a sample when compared to an appropriate control. Thus, an effective concentration of an oxalate degrading sequence or microbe is a concentration that is sufficient to modulate oxalate degredation. Assays to measure oxalate degradation include, but are not limited to, the assays discussed above for formyl-CoA transferase activity and oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase activity. In addition, assays for oxalate degradation include direct measurement of oxalate concentration. See, for example, Duncan et al. (2002) Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68:3841-3847, herein incorporated by reference.

In one embodiment, an appropriate host cell is transformed with at least one of the polynucleotides encoding the oxalate degrading sequences of the invention, or a biologically active variant or fragment thereof, and thereby confer upon the transformed host cell a modulated oxalate degradation activity (i.e., an increase or decrease in oxalate degradation activity) than that seen in an appropriate host control cell. The host can comprise, for example, a microbe which is particularly well adapted for oral administration and/or colonizing the intestines. Alternatively, the host may be a plant or plant cell which, once transformed, will produce the desired oxalate degrading polypeptides and thereby make these activities available in the intestine when the plant material is consumed. Alternatively, the transformed plant may have a lower amount of oxalate, due to the actions of the polypeptides provided by the transformation, and thus when consumed, the plant will not provide as much oxalate to the diet as would a nontransformed plant. The oxalate degrading polynucleotides may also be used in synthetic or ex vivo systems to provide proteins having oxalate degrading activity.

Compositions further comprise microorganisms that are capable of degrading oxalate. In one embodiment, the microorganism comprises a bacteria having a first nucleic acid comprising the nucleic acid set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 or a biologically active variant or fragment thereof; and, a second nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:3 or a biologically active variant or fragment thereof, where at least one of the first or the second nucleic acid molecules is heterologous to the bacteria, and the first and the second nucleic acid molecules are operably linked to a promoter active is the bacteria. In specific embodiments, both nucleic acids are heterologous to the microorganism.

The microorganism employed in the methods and compositions of the invention can comprise a probiotic bacteria, a lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus, or Lactobacillus acidophilus. Other microorganisms of interest include, but are not limited to, Oxalobacter formigenes, Pseudomonas, Clostridia, or Bifidobacteria. It is recognized that the native microorganism employed can be capable of degrading oxalate, but also includes microorganisms, such as bacteria or fungi, that are unable to degrade oxalate and thus when transformed with the heterologous oxalate degrading polynucleotides of the invention, the oxalate degrading ability is conferred. Methods of expressing and isolating the oxalate degrading polypeptide or various methods for introducing such sequences into a microbe are known in the art and disclosed in detail elsewhere herein.

Compositions of the present invention also include subjects (i.e., animals including, humans and non-human animals, such as, domesticated, agricultural, or exotic animals) that have a modulated oxalate degrading activity. In specific embodiments, such subjects have an enhanced ability to reduce oxalate. Such animals having enhanced oxalate degradation abilities can be used as in vivo models for studying oxalate-related conditions.

Methods are provided to modulate the oxalate degrading capability of a cell or an organism. In one method, oxalate degrading sequences of the invention are provided to a cell to enhance or repress the oxalate degrading ability of the cell. In other methods, compositions comprising the oxalate degrading sequences of the present invention and/or the oxalate degrading microbes expressing the oxalate degrading sequences of the invention are administered to plants or animals for altering the oxalate levels of the plant or animal. Methods also include dietary supplementation methods such that the compositions of the present invention are administered to animals in food or concurrent with food to alter the oxalate levels in the food or during the digestion of the food.

Further provided is a method for reducing oxalate levels in order to treat or prevent oxalate-related conditions. By “oxalate-related condition” is intended any condition which results in an elevated level of oxalate in a subject. Subjects which could benefit from preventative treatment include, but are not limited to, individuals or animals whose oxalate degrading bacteria have been depleted due to, for example, antibiotic treatment or in post-operative situations. The methods of the invention can also be used to treat individuals or animals who have colonies of oxalate degrading bacteria, but who still have unhealthy levels of oxalate due to, for example, oxalate susceptibility and/or excessive production of endogenous oxalate. Non-limiting oxalate-related conditions include hyperoxaluria, primary hyperoxaluria, idiopathic calcium oxalate kidney stone disease (urolithiasis), enteric hyperoxaluria, vulvodynia, oxalosis associated with end-stage renal disease, cardiac conductance disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

By “treatment” is intended any improvement in the subject having the oxalate-related condition. The improvement can be characterized as any statistically significant reduction in the level of oxalate in the subject. Accordingly, a “positive therapeutic response” includes both a complete response (i.e., a reduction to normal oxalate levels) and a partial response (i.e., any statistically significant reduction in oxalate levels). Various assays can be used to measure the level of oxalate present in the gut, kidney, feces, or in various cellular or body fluids, such as, blood or urine. See, for example, Duncan et al. (2002) Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68:3841-3847.

A method for treating an oxalate-related condition comprises administering a composition comprising one or more oxalate degrading microbes and/or oxalate-degrading polypeptides of the invention. The oxalate degrading polypeptide which is administered in the methods of the invention may be isolated or they may be administered as a cell lysate. The cell lysate can be made from any host cell that is expressing the oxalate degrading sequence of the invention, or a biologically active variant or fragment thereof. In one embodiment, the cell lysate is from Lactobacillus acidophilus. In a specific embodiment, the oxalate degrading sequences which are administered comprise one or more of the oxalate degrading sequences of the present invention such as, but not limited to, SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3, or 4 or a biologically active variant or fragment thereof. In other embodiments, the sequences administered comprise one or more of the sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOS:5-36, or a biologically active variant or fragment thereof. Additional factors which improve the oxalate degrading activity can also be administered.

Further provided is a composition comprising one or more oxalate degrading microbes and/or oxalate-degrading polypeptides and/or cell lysate of the invention for use as a medicament. Also provided is the use of a composition comprising one or more oxalate degrading microbes and/or oxalate-degrading polypeptides of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for use in the treatment of an oxalate-related condition.

The present invention yet further provides the use of a composition comprising one or more oxalate degrading microbes and/or oxalate-degrading polypeptides and/or cell lysate of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for use in the treatment of a non-limiting oxalate-related condition including one or more of hyperoxaluria, primary hyperoxaluria, idiopathic calcium oxalate kidney stone disease (urolithiasis), enteric hyperoxaluria, vulvodynla, oxalosis associated with end-stage renal disease, cardiac conductance disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

When an oxalate degrading microbe expressing at least one of the oxalate degrading polynucleotides of the invention is employed, the microbe and its progeny replicate in the intestine of the subject and remove oxalate from the intestinal tract, thereby reducing the amount of oxalate available for absorption which leads to increased oxalate excretion from the blood into the intestine.

Such compositions may be administered one or more times a day for one or more days depending on the severity of the oxalate-related condition or the amount of oxalate in the gut or body fluids of the human or animal. The treatments may continue as long as unwanted levels or oxalate are present in the human or animal. In still another embodiment, the composition is administered to reduce the risk for developing oxalate-related disorders by reducing the amount of oxalate in the intestinal tract. This reduction in the intestinal tract leads to a reduction in systemic oxalate levels thereby promoting good health.

To treat or prevent an oxalate-related condition, a therapeutically effective amount of the oxalate degrading polypeptide, an oxalate degrading a microorganism comprising the oxalate-reducing polypeptide, a cell having lysate from an oxalate degrading polypeptide is administered. By “therapeutically effective amount” is meant the concentration of an oxalate degrading microbe and/or polypeptide of the invention that is sufficient to elicit a therapeutic effect. Thus, the concentration of an oxalate degrading microbe and/or polypeptide of the invention in an administered dose unit is effective in the treatment or prevention of an oxalate-related disorder. The therapeutically effective amount will depend on many factors including, for example, the severity of the oxalate-related disorder, the responsiveness of the patient, the weight of the patient, along with other intrapersonal variability, the method of administration, and the oxalate degrading microbe and/or polypeptide formulation used. The oxalate degrading compositions are therefore administered at intervals determined by the needs of the individual. A single, periodic, or regular administration may be needed. Methods also include administering such compositions more than one time per day, more than two times per day, more than three times per day and in a range from 1 to 15 times per day. Such administrations may be continuously, as in every day for a period of days, weeks, months or years, or may occur at specific times to treat or prevent oxalate-related conditions.

The compositions of the present invention comprise pharmaceutically acceptable formulations. For example, the methods and compositions of the present invention comprise a dose delivery system that provides the compositions (i.e., the oxalate degrading enzymes or the oxalate degrading microbe) to the desired locations, such as delivery of the compositions to the intestines/mucosal regions of the subject. Pharmaceutical compositions include oxalate degrading bacteria or one or more oxalate degrading polypeptides, alone or in combinations include bacteria or polypeptides that have been lyophilized or frozen in liquid or paste form and encapsulated in a gel capsule, microcapsules, or other enteric protection. An enteric protective coating can be used to protect the composition from adverse effects of stomach acid. Such enteric coatings include the use of cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP). Additional descriptions of encapsulation technology include U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,495, which is incorporated herein by reference. The released composition then converts oxalate present in the intestine to harmless products. Carriers also can be combined with the bacteria or polypeptides. These would include, for example, saline-phosphate buffer.

In other embodiments, different food products can be supplemented with the oxalate degrading compositions of the invention. Such food products can subsequently be administered to the subject. Various methods can be employed for making such foods products including, for example, admixing a food material with an oxalate reducing composition of the invention. For example, yogurt cultures, the end yogurt food product, milk, cheese, or meat products can be mixed with the oxalate degrading microbes of the invention. In addition, plants expressing the oxalate reducing enzymes of the invention can be generated using known transformation technologies. Upon ingestion, when the food products are being digested and absorbed by the intestines, the oxalate degrading compositions, including one or more microbes, one or more polypeptides or combinations thereof, degrade oxalate present in the intestines thus reducing absorption of oxalate into the bloodstream.

It is recognized that the oxalate degrading sequences of the invention can be employed in combination with other sequences known to modulated oxalate degradation. Various oxalate degrading enzymes and the genes encoding these enzymes are known and include, for example, those set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,912,125; 6,090,628; and 6,214,980. These patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The term oxalate degrading enzyme includes but is not limited to oxalate oxidase, oxalate decarboxylase, oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase, and formyl-CoA transferase, and includes enzymes that are capable of interacting with oxalate or oxalic acid. These enzymes may be derived from natural sources or synthesized using recombinant means known in the art, and include all fragments, such as binding sites, active sites, or fragments capable of interacting with oxalate or oxalic acid. This term also includes but is not limited to all necessary cofactors, coenzymes, metals, or binding or substrate materials that are needed by the enzyme in interacting with oxalate or oxalic acid. The present invention also contemplates any binding partners of these enzymes and includes antibodies and antibody fragments that bind to or interact with the enzymes.

Additional Methods of Use

Methods are provided wherein properties of microbes used in fermentation are modified to provide strains which permit more efficient and/or more economic bioprocesses, or strains better able to survive, grow and/or colonize or inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of a host animal to which the strain is administered as a probiotic bacterium.

In one embodiment, expression or overexpression of a polynucleotide or polypeptide of the invention can modulate the growth rate of a bacterium. By “growth rate” is meant a measure of the rate of growth of an organism or culture. When the microorganism is grown in continuous liquid culture at an exponential growth rate, the increase in cell mass can be expressed in terms of the specific growth rate constant (μ): dP/dt=μ×P, where P is the cell mass and t is the time. By “overexpressing” is meant that the protein of interest is produced in an increased amount in the modified bacterium compared to its production in a wild-type bacterium. Assays to measure the growth rate of bacteria are known in the art (see, for example, Bruinenberg et al. (1992) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 58:78-84).

Methods for increasing oxalate degradation in a subject are provided, comprising introducing a lipase or esterase protein in a subject. In one embodiment, the protein is expressed in an organism that is used to ferment a dairy product, and the subject ingests the product. In another embodiment, the polypeptide itself is added to a food product. Expression of oxalyl CoA decarboxylase in the intestinal tract of a subject may help lower concentrations of oxalate in the blood or urine (see, for example, Troxel et al. (2003) J. Endourol. 17:173-176; Lung et al. (1991) Am. J. Kidney Dis. 17:381-385; Sidhu et al. (1999) J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. Suppl 14:S334-S340).

TABLE 1 Nucleic acids and proteins of the present invention ORF# SEQ ID NO Gene 395 1 Dehydratase 396 3 Oxalyl CoA decarboxlase 38 5 39 7 40 9 144 11 149 13 600 31 Xylulose-5-phosphate/fructose phosphoketolase 877 33 Cellobiose phosphotransferase enzyme IIA 1119 15 Inner membrane protein 1234 17 Cadmium/manganese transport ATPase or H⁺-transporting ATPase 1339 19 1462 21 β-galactosidase 1690 23 Membrane protein 1869 25 1870 35 Maltose phosphorylase 1877 27 1948 29

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended embodiments. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

The following examples are offered by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

EXPERIMENTAL Example 1 Analysis of the Chromosomal Region Containing frc and oxc

Oxalic acid can be found in dietary sources (such as coffee, tea, chocolate) or produced from some metabolic precursors (such as ascorbic acid) by the intestinal microflora or by non enzymatic degradation. In the human intestine it may combine with calcium, sodium, magnesium, or potassium to form less soluble salts causing pathological disorders (hyperoxaluria, pyridoxine deficiency, urolithiasis and renal failure in humans). An operon containing genes homologous to a formyl coenzyme A transferase (frc) and oxalyl coenzyme A decarboxylase (oxc) was identified in the genome of the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus. These genes, not previously described in lactobacilli, are putatively responsible for oxalate degradation in this organism. Transcriptional analysis using cDNA microarrays and reverse-transcription quantitative PCR revealed that mildly acidic conditions were a prerequisite for frc and oxc transcription. As a consequence, oxalate-dependent induction of those genes L. acidophilus was only accomplished in cells exposed to pH 5.5 previously adapted to sub inhibitory concentrations of oxalate. Physiological analysis using a mutant harboring a deleted version of the frc gene (frc⁻) confirmed that frc expression specifically affects the survival under oxalic acid at pH 3.5 as compared with the wild type strain. A whole genome microarray containing 97.5% of the genes of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM was used to identify a candidate gene for the incorporation of the dissociated oxalate into the cell. Where genome information was available, other members of the lactic acid bacteria were screened for frc and oxc genes. With the exception of Lactobacillus gasseri NCK334 and Bifidobacterium animalis, none of the other strains harbored genes for oxalate utilization.

The genome sequence of L. acidophilus NCFM (Altermann et al. (2005) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102: 3906-3912) revealed the presence of an operon putatively involved in oxalate catabolism (FIG. 1). The predicted operon consisted of two genes: the formyl-CoA transferase (LBA0395, frc) and oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase (LBA0396, oxc), encoded on the complementary chain (FIG. 1). High-energy rho-independent terminators can be predicted downstream LBA0397 (Δ −11.4 Kcal/mol) and LBA0395 (Δ −14.6 Kcal/mol). Additionally, a typical RBS sequence (agaagg), 7 nt from the start, and a putative promoter were positioned upstream of oxc.

The gene downstream of frc (LBA0394) is also encoded on the complementary chain and its putative product is a protein of 395 amino acids (aa) which is virtually identical (90% identity, E value of 0.0) to a predicted acyl-CoA transferase/carnitin dehydratase from Lactobacillus gasseri NCK334 (Accession number ZP_(—)00046082). It also shows 44% identity with a putative formyl-CoA transferase from Escherichia coli K12 (Accession number NP_(—)416872) and 44% identity with a putative protein F (Accession number BAA 16242) of a bile acid-inducible operon from E. coli. A conserved domain (pfam02515) belonging to a new family of CoA-transferases is present in this protein. Most of CoA-transferases belong to two well-known enzyme families, but recently a third family of CoA-transferases was described (Heider (2001) FEBS Lett. 509: 345-349). Members of this enzyme family are oxalyl-CoA-transferase, succinyl-CoA: (R)-benzylsuccinate CoA-transferase, (E)-cinnamoyl-CoA: (R)-phenyllactate CoA-transferase, and butyrobetainyl-CoA: (R)-carnitine CoA-transferase.

LBA0395 encodes a protein of 445 aa length and shares an identity of 30% (48% similarity) with LBA0394. Additionally, LBA0395 is highly similar to the predicted acyl-CoA transferase from L. gasseri and the formyl-CoA transferase from E. coli K12. However, contrary to LBA0394, LBA0395 also showed a 44% identity (61% similarity) with the protein encoded by frc, the formyl-CoA transferase gene from Oxalobacter formigenes (Sidhu et al. (1997) J. Bacteriol. 179:3378-3381), which was the first member of the family III of Co-A transferases to be characterized.

LBA0396 encodes a 569-aa protein similar to the oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.8) from O. formigenes (53% identical and 71% similar; Lung et al. (1994) J. Bacteriol. 176:2468-2472) and Bifidobacterium lactis (46% identical and 63% similar, Federici et al. (2004) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:5066-5073). The protein encoded by LBA0396 exhibits a conserved domain present in thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP)-requiring enzymes (COG0028). This domain is also present in several enzymes including acetolactate synthase, pyruvate dehydrogenase (cytochrome), glyoxylate carboligase, and phosphonopyruvate decarboxylase. Additionally, in LBA0396 the N-terminal TPP-binding domain (pfam02776) starts at residue 7 aa and spans for 171 aa, and the central TPP domain (pfam00205) starts at residue 197 aa and spans for 154 aa.

LBA0397, upstream to oxc, encodes a 639-aa protein showing the conserved domain COG0488, Uup, that corresponds to ATPase components of ABC transporters with duplicated ATPase domains (Holland and light (1999) J. Mol. Biol. 293:381-399). A high degree of identity to equivalent proteins (over 75%) encoded by L. gasseri and L. johnsonii was observed.

Other lactic acid bacteria were screened for frc and oxc related genes. With the exception of Lactobacillus gasseri NCK334 (Accession number ZP_(—)0004699.1) and Bifidobacterium animalis (Accession number AB163432.1), none of the other strains harbored genes for oxalate utilization, including Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 (Kleerbezem et al. (2003) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100:1990-1995) and Lactobacillus johnsonii, a reputed probiotic culture (Pridmore et al. (2004) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101:2512-2517).

Example 2 Transcriptional Analysis of the oxc Operon Using Microarrays

Antiport of oxalate/formate in O. formigenes is coupled to oxalate decarboxylation and generates a proton-motive gradient (Abe et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271:6789-6793). In view of the fact that we were not able to identify a putative oxalate permease/antiporter by in silico analysis of L. acidophilus genome, we conducted microarray experiments in an attempt to identify a candidate that might be responsible for the specific transport of oxalate into the cell.

During growth of L. acidophilus in glucose-supplemented MRS medium, the pH of a culture starting at 6.5 typically decreases due to fermentation and lactic acid production. NCFM can comfortably tolerate mildly acidic conditions (pH≈5.5). A whole-genome array (WGA) containing 97.4% of NCFM annotated genes was used to identify genes that are differentially expressed under mildly acidic conditions (GEO accession numbers GPL1401 [platform] and GSE1976 [series]; 4). After exposure to pH 5.5 for 30 min, we observed the consistent induction of ORFs LBA0395 (3.2-fold) and LBA0396 (4.5 fold) encoding a putative formyl-CoA transferase (ftrc) and oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase (oxc), respectively (FIG. 2). In this study, the WGA of L. acidophilus was used to analyze the global gene expression after cells were exposed to 70 mM ammonium oxalate for 30 min at pH 6.8. Sixteen genes were significantly up regulated (P≦0.05 and a fold change>2.0, Table 2) and 315 genes were down regulated (P≦0.05 and a fold change<0.5). Both the frc or oxc genes were down regulated under this condition. The most up regulated genes were a cadmium/manganese transport ATPase (LBA1234) and two uncharacterized membrane proteins (LBA1119 and LBA1690). ORFs LBA0038, LBA0039, LBA0040, and LBA0041 were up regulated (between 1.43 and 2.45-fold). These four genes, encoded on the lagging strand, appear to form an operon. LBA0041 encodes a putative adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)-dependent ribonucleoside triphosphate reductase. ORFs LBA0038, LBA0039 and LBA0040 are poorly characterized, however LBA0040 is similar to a putative ATP:cob(I) alamin adenosyltransferase (Johnson et al. (2001) J. Bacteriol 183:1577-84, the enzyme responsible for the last step in the activation of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin, CNCbl) to coenzyme B12 (AdoCbl), the enzyme responsible for the last step in the activation of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin, CNCbl) to coenzyme B12 (AdoCbl). The reason why these genes are up regulated in the presence of ammonium oxalate requires further investigation.

TABLE 2 Differentially expressed genes in Lactobacillus. acidophilus NCFM in response to 1% ammonium oxalate at pH 6.8. Expression Gene Description Ratio P-value La38 Hypothetical protein 2.3779 3.05E−05 La39 Hypothetical protein 2.45397 0.00715 La40 Hypothetical protein 1.98763 0.01751 La144 N-acetylglucosamine-6-P deacetylase 3.20624 0.000577 La149 Hypothetical protein 2.35141 0.00148 La600 Xylulose-5-phosphate/ 3.07795 0.00465 fructose phosphoketolase La877 PTS system IIa 2.11961 0.01174 La1119 Putative inner membrane protein 5.9474 1.53E−05 La1234 Cadmium/manganese 9.64192 0.000479 transport ATPase La1339 Hypothetical protein 2.33961 0.01897 La1462 Beta-galactosidase 1.98621 3.70E−02 La1690 Putative membrane protein 4.76365 0.00306 La1869 Beta-phosphoglucomutase 2.9235 5.99E−05 La1870 Maltose phosphorylase 3.13107 0.00337 La1877 Hypothetical protein 2.59773 0.00538 La1948 Glucosamine-6-phosphate 2.3297 0.01976 isomerase

Example 3 Transcriptional Analysis of the oxc Operon by RTQ-PCR

Acid-induction of frc and oxc was evaluated in the presence and absence of ammonium oxalate as inducer of the expression of the operon. Primers meeting RTQ-PCR criteria were designed for genes LBA0394, LBA0395 (frc), LBA0396 (oxc), and LBA0397. Additionally, since LBA0394 showed some homology to a bile-inducible protein (see above) we also designed RTQ-PCR primers for two ORFs in the NCFM genome encoding bile salt hydrolases LBA0872 (bsh1) and LBA1078 (bsh2).

L. acidophilus was adapted to oxalate by three consecutive transfers in MRS broth containing 0.05% ammonium oxalate, a non-inhibiting concentration. Cells pre-exposed or not-exposed to this compound were then transferred to MRS broth at pH 5.5 (adjusted with lactic acid), and samples were taken over time. ORFs LBA0397, bsh1 and bsh2 (not shown) were not expressed under any of the conditions assayed. Expression of LBA0394 was basal and constant. In contrast, the frc and oxc genes were highly expressed in cells exposed to pH 5.5 (FIG. 3A). When L. acidophilus cells were propagated in the presence of ammonium oxalate and then exposed to pH 5.5 plus 0.5% ammonium oxalate, frc and oxc expression increased dramatically (FIG. 3B). Subsequently, cells were pre-exposed to oxalate or not, and then resuspended in MRS containing 0.5% ammonium oxalate (pH>6.0). However, at the higher pH, no induction of any of the genes studied was observed (data not shown).

Example 4 Inactivation of frc and Mutant Phenotype Analysis

The integrative plasmid pOR128, a pWV01-derived vector (Law et al. (1995) J. Bacteriol. 177:7011-7018) was used to replace frc with the deleted version of the same gene. A 1.42-kb fragment containing frc was amplified using L. acidophilus NCFM chromosomal DNA as template and cloned in pOR128. Subsequently, a 72-bp fragment of the cloned gene was removed by inverted PCR amplification and posterior self-ligation. The resulting 3.04-kb plasmid pTRK837 was then introduced by electroporation in L. acidophilus NCFM containing the helper plasmid pTRK669. Subsequent steps to facilitate the integration event and gene replacement were carried out according to the protocols previously described (Russell and Klaenhammer (2001) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:4361-4364 and Bruno-Barcena et al. (2005) FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 246:91-101). PCR and Southern hybridization experiments using an internal fragment of frc as probe confirmed the occurrence of the gene replacement.

The survival of log cells (OD₆₀₀=0.3) of the wild-type (L. acidophilus NCFM; wt) and frc⁻ strains at pH 4.0, 3.5 and 3.0 was compared, using hydrochloric acid (HCl), lactic acid and oxalic acid to acidify MRS broth. No differences were observed between the wt and the mutant when HCl or lactic acid was used to acidify the culture medium. Additionally, no differences were observed between strains, in the presence of 5% oxalic acid, at pH 4.0 (>50% survival) or 3.0 (<0.01% survival). However, frc⁻ was more sensitive to 5% (w/v) oxalic acid after 2 h at pH 3.5 (FIG. 4).

The ability of the control and the mutant strains to tolerate and/or grow in the presence of oxalate in a semi-defined medium (BM) since the addition of the salt caused precipitation of MRS broth was examined (FIG. 4). The growth rate in BM was similar for both L. acidophilus strains (0.7 h⁻¹ in BM containing 0.1% glucose). No differences were observed between strains when 0.1% or 0.5% ammonium oxalate (C₂H₈N₂O₄) was added to the cultures in the presence of glucose, since growth rates decreased in both strains in the presence of 0.5% C₂H₈N₂O₄ (0.48 h⁻¹ for the control and 0.52 h⁻¹ for the mutant). Interestingly, a lag-phase of 7 hours was observed when 0.5% C₂H₈N₂O₄ was added to the media without glucose indicating that strains require detoxifying this compound to grow.

Finally, oxalate content was measured in both NCFM and the frc mutant (FIG. 6). Lactobacillus strains were consecutively transferred for 3 days in BM broth without citrate (BM^(cit-)), containing 1% glucose plus 3.5 mM ammonium oxalate. After 3 days, 100 μl of cells were inoculated in the same medium and grown to an A₆₀₀ of 0.6, centrifuged and resuspended in BM^(cit-) containing 0.1% glucose plus 35 mM ammonium oxalate (32 mM oxalate). Samples were taken over time, centrifuged, neutralized to a pH between 5 and 7 (according to the manufacturer's instructions) with 1N sodium hydroxide and stored at −20° C. Oxalate concentration in the supernatants was measured in triplicate using the diagnostic oxalate kit (Trinity Biotech, Co Wicklow, Ireland) based on the oxidation of oxalate by oxalate oxidase.

As shown in FIG. 6, the content of oxalate in the culture supernatant decreased significantly in the control (up to 23.6%) but not in the mutant strain where oxalate content decreased 5.8%. Most of the oxalate degradation occurred during the first 16 hours of culture growth. The results indicated that L. acidophilus was able to degrade oxalate, and Frc participates in this process.

Example 5 Summary of Transcriptional and Functional Analysis of Oxalyl-CoA Decarboxylase and Formyl-CoA Transferase from Lactobacillus acidophilus

Studies using a whole-genome microarray of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM (Azcarate-Peril et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. (in press)) showed the consistent induction of ORFs LBA0395 and LBA0396 at mildly acidic pH. A comparative analysis of these and the adjacent genes with the available sequences at the Genbank, identified a formyl-CoA transferase (frc) and oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase (oxc), highly similar to frc and oxc from Oxalobacter formigenes. In L. acidophilus, frc and oxc appear to form an operon and are encoded on the complementary strand. RTQ-PCR and microarray experiments confirmed that oxalate (pH>5.8) did not directly induce the expression of frc and oxc, which were induced under acidic conditions. However, when L. acidophilus was repeatedly transferred in broth containing non-inhibitory concentrations of ammonium oxalate and subsequently exposed to pH 5.5, the expression of those genes, especially frc, was dramatically increased. Moreover, when frc was inactivated and the mutant strain was exposed to acidic pH it proved to be more susceptible specifically to oxalic acid at pH 3.5, indicating that frc is involved in the detoxification of oxalate by L. acidophilus. Additionally, the frc⁻ mutant was unable to degrade oxalate and was significantly below the wild-type strain, which exhibited an oxalate-degrading activity of 23.56%.

The concept of autochthonous microorganisms of the gastrointestinal tract has been discussed by several authors (for a review see 33). In fact, Tannock proposed a concise definition based on three important characteristics: a long-term association with the host, a stable population in a particular region of the gut, and a demonstrated ecological function. Oxalate occurs widely in nature and oxalate-rich foods are important sources of oxalate in the diet. The presence of bacteria that specifically degrade oxalate may regulate the oxalate homeostasis of the host by preventing absorption, catabolizing free oxalate and enhancing oxalate removal from the circulation. Consequently, the capability to detoxify this compound potentially suggests a new ecological function for L. acidophilus.

Other oxalate-degrading bacteria isolated from the human gastro intestinal tract include Eubacterium lentum (Ito et al. (1996) Int. J. Urol. 3:31-34) and Enterococcus faecalis (Hokama et al. (2000) Microbiol. Immunol. 44:235-240). The authors isolated an oxalate-degrading E. faecalis from human stools under anaerobic conditions, and they identified the formyl-CoA transferase and oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase enzymes by Western blottings using antibodies against Frc and Oxc from O. formigenes. Campieri et al. (Campieri et al. (2001) Kidney Internat. 60:1097-1105) measured oxalate degradation in patients with idiopatic calcium-oxalate urolithiasis treated with 8×10¹¹ LAB (including L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, L. brevis, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Bifidobacterium infantis). They observed a reduction in the excreted oxalate, and in vitro reduction, especially by L. acidophilus and S. thermophilus (even when their growth was partially inhibited by this compound). However, the genes responsible for oxalate degradation by these microorganisms were not identified. More recently, the oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase gene was identified in B. lactis, and oxalate-degrading activity of the enzyme was confirmed by a capillary eletrophoresis-based method (Federici et al. (2004) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 5066-5073). Therefore, oxalate catabolism in the grastrointestinal tract may be an important property of some comensal and probiotic bacteria.

In other oxalate-degrading organisms as O. formigenes, the utilization of oxalate is coupled to energy production, produced by the antiport of oxalate and formate. We were not able to identify a putative permease/antiporter that incorporates dissociated oxalate into the cell by in silico analysis. It is commonly known that the non-dissociated forms of organic acids, such as oxalic acid can freely diffuse through the cytoplasmic membrane. This might explain the apparent absence of a specific transporter for oxalic acid in the genome of NCFM. The concentration of oxalate entering the cell will increase under acidic conditions, which may also occur during the passage of the cells through the variable pH conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. As an alternative hypothesis, one of the three genes encoding membrane proteins may participate in the active transport of this compound into the cell, particularly as they were strongly up regulated in the presence of ammonium oxalate. The first, a cadmium/manganese transport ATPase (LBA1234) was up regulated 9.64 fold. The predicted protein encoded by LBA1234 shows two conserved domains: pfam00122 (E1-E2 ATPase) and COG0474 (MgtA, cation transport ATPase). E1E2-ATPases are primary active transporters that form phospho-intermediates during their catalytic cycle. They are classified into P1 to P4 based on the primary structure and potential transmembrane segments (Axelsen and Palmgren (1998) J Mol Evol. 46:84-101). E1E2-ATPases transport divalent cations (as oxalate is) hence LBA1234 might be the transporter responsible for the translocation of oxalate into the cell. Two other uncharacterized membrane proteins (LBA1119 and LBA1690) were also up regulated, but they did not harbor any features for putative identification. Additionally, we did not observe over expression of LBA0397, the gene immediately downstream oxc, encoding the ATPase subunit of a putative ABC transporter, under any of the studied conditions.

The gene upstream LBA0394 is similar to a transcriptional regulator and the gene downstream LBA0397 is a putative AT-rich DNA binding protein. These observations, combined with expression data suggest that the oxc operon in L. acidophilus is regulated. Moreover, we can speculate that the ability to decarboxylate oxalyl-CoA was acquired by L. acidophilus by horizontal gene transfer. The operon is encoded on the complementary strand and the GC content of frc (38.4%) and oxc (40.2%) is notably higher than the average for the NCFM genome (34.71%).

The efficacy of probiotics as means to prevent and/or treat urogenital infections and recurrent bladder cancer has been scientifically accepted in the past two decades (Hoesl and Altwein (2005) Eur. Urol. 47: 288-296). More recently, encouraging results were obtained in a clinical trial of O fomigenes for patients suffering from hyperoxaluria Type I (an inherited, life-threatening disease characterized by recurrent oxalate stone formation, nephrocalcinosis and eventual liver and kidney failure). Additional clinical studies and the delivery of probiotic bacteria capable of oxalate detoxification may lead to a complementary method to prevent renal stone formation and reduce the incidence of other pathological disorders (like pyridoxine deficiency, urolithiasis, and renal failure) enhancing acceptance of probiotics by physicians and consumers.

Example 6 Sequence Characterization

SEQ ID NO: 14 shares homology to PFAM family PF00582. PF00582 comprises a family of universal stress proteins. A representative member of this family is UspA USPA_ECOLI (Sousa et al. (2001) Structure 9:1135-1141) which is a small cytoplasmic bacterial protein whose expression is enhanced when the cell is exposed to stress agents. UspA enhances the rate of cell survival during prolonged exposure to such conditions, and may provide a general “stress endurance” activity. The crystal structure of Haemophilus influenzae UspA (Nystrom et al. (1994) Mol Microbiol 11:537-544) reveals an alpha/beta fold similar to that of the Methanococcus jannaschii MJ0577 protein, which binds ATP Zarembinski et al. (1998) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95:15189-15193, though UspA lacks ATP-binding activity.

SEQ ID NO: 6 shares homology to PFAM family PF01923. PF01923 comprises a family of proteins that share homology to cobalamin adenosyltransferase. This family contains the gene products of PduO and EutT which are both cobalamin adenosyltransferases. PduO is a protein with ATP:cob(I) alamin adenosyltransferase activity. The main role of this protein is the conversion of inactive cobalamins to AdoCbl for 1,2-propanediol degradation (Kofoid et al. (1999) J Bacteriol 181:5317-5329). The EutT enzyme appears to be an adenosyl transferase, converting CNB12 to AdoB12 (Johnson (2001) J Bacteriol 183:1577-1584).

SEQ ID NO: 18 shares homology to PFAM family PF00122. PF00122 comprises a family of proteins having homology to p-type (or E1-E2-type) aTPases which constitute a superfamily of cation transport enzymes, present both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, whose members mediate membrane flux of all common biologically relevant cations. The enzymes, that form an aspartyl phosphate intermediate in the course of ATP hydrolysis, can be divided into 4 major groups: (1) Ca²⁺-transporting ATPases; (2) Na⁺/K⁺- and gastric H⁺/K⁺-transporting ATPases; (3) plasma membrane H⁺-transporting ATPases (proton pumps) of plants, fungi and lower eukaryotes; and (4) all bacterial P-type ATPases, except the Mg²⁺-ATPase of Salmonella typhimurium, which is more similar to the eukaryotic sequences. However, great variety of sequence analysis methods results in diversity of classification.

SEQ ID NO:22 shares homology to PFAM family PF02449. PF02449 comprises a family of proteins having homology to Beta-galactosidase. This group of beta-galactosidase enzymes belong to the glycosyl hydrolase 42 family. The enzyme catalyses the hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing terminal beta-D-galactosidase residues.

SEQ ID NOS: 26 and 18 share homology to PFAM family PF00702. PF00702 comprises a family of proteins having a haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolase domain. This family are structurally different from the alpha/beta hydrolase family (Abhydrolase_(—)1). This family includes L-2-haloacid dehalogenase, epoxide hydrolases and phosphatases. The structure of the family consists of two domains. One is an inserted four helix bundle, which is the least well conserved region of the alignment, between residues 16 and 96 of HAD1_PSEUC. The rest of the fold is composed of the core alpha/beta domain.

SEQ ID NO: 30 shares homology to PFAM family PF01182. PF01182 comprises a family of proteins having a Glucosamine-6-phosphate isomerases/6-phosphogluconolactonase domain. This entry contains 6-phosphogluconolactonase (EC:3.1.1.31), Glucosamine-6-phosphate isomerase (EC:3.5.99.6), and Galactosamine-6-phosphate isomerase. 6-phosphogluconolactonase is the enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of 6-phosphogluconolactone to 6-phosphogluconate, the second step in the pentose phosphate pathway. Glucosamine-6-phosphate isomerase (or Glucosamine 6-phosphate deaminase) is the enzyme responsible for the conversion of D-glucosamine 6-phosphate into D-fructose 6-phosphate. It is the last specific step in the pathway for N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAC) utilization in bacteria such as Escherichia coli (gene nagB) or in fungi such as Candida albicans (gene NAG1). A region located in the central part of Glucosamine-6-phosphate isomerase contains a conserved histidine which has been shown, in nagB, to be important for the pyranose ring-opening step of the catalytic mechanism.

SEQ ID NO: 34 shares homology to PFAM family PF02302. PF02302 comprises a family of proteins having a PTS system, Lactose/Cellobiose specific IIB subunit. The bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a multi-protein system involved in the regulation of a variety of metabolic and transcriptional processes. The lactose/cellobiose-specific family is one of four structurally and functionally distinct group IIB PTS system cytoplasmic enzymes. The fold of IIB cellobiose shows similar structure to mammalian tyrosine phosphatases.

SEQ ID NO: 36 shares homology to PFAM family PF03632. PF03632 comprises a family of proteins having a glycosyl hydrolase family 65 central catalytic domain. This family of glycosyl hydrolases contains vacuolar acid trehalase and maltose phosphorylase. Maltose phosphorylase (MP) is a dimeric enzyme that catalyses the conversion of maltose and inorganic phosphate into beta-D-glucose-1-phosphate and glucose. The central domain is the catalytic domain, which binds a phosphate ion that is proximal the highly conserved Glu. The arrangement of the phosphate and the glutamate is thought to cause nucleophilic attack on the anomeric carbon atom Egloff et al. (2001) Structure (Camb) 9:689-697). The catalytic domain also forms the majority of the dimerisation interface.

SEQ ID NO: 36 shares homology to PFAM family PF03636. PF03636 comprises a family of proteins having a glycosyl hydrolase family 65, N-terminal domain. This family of glycosyl hydrolases contains vacuolar acid trehalase and maltose phosphorylase. Maltose phosphorylase (MP) is a dimeric enzyme that catalyses the conversion of maltose and inorganic phosphate into beta-D-glucose-1-phosphate and glucose. This domain is believed to be essential for catalytic activity (Egloff et al. (2001) Structure (Camb) 9:689-697).

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications, patents and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims.

TABLE 3 Top Blast result for each protein sequence SEQ Amino ID Percent Acid NO: ORF Identity Range Organism Description Accession No. 2 395 84 4 to 442 Lactobacillus gasseri COG1804: Predicted acyl-CoA transferases/carnitine ref|ZP_00047386.1 dehydratase 4 396 71 1 to 569 Lactobacillus gasseri COG0028: Thiamine pyrophosphate-requiring enzymes ref|ZP_00047384.1 (acetolactate synthase, pyruvate dehydrogenase (cytochrome), glyoxylate carboligase, phosphonopyruvate decarboxylase) 6 38 68 1 to 178 Lactobacillus gasseri COG2096: Uncharacterized conserved protein ref|ZP_00046768.1 8 39 65 1 to 169 Lactobacillus gasseri hypothetical protein ref|NP_442412.1 10 40 58 1 to 85  Lactobacillus gasseri hypothetical protein ref|ZP_00046754.1 12 144 69 1 to 384 Lactobacillus gasseri COG1820: N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate deacetylase ref|ZP_00045970.1 14 149 81 1 to 151 Lactobacillus gasseri COG0589: Universal stress protein UspA and related ref|ZP_00047032.1 16 1119 79 1 to 328 Lactobacillus gasseri COG2855: Predicted membrane protein ref|ZP_00062705.1 18 1234 79 2 to 625 Lactobacillus gasseri COG0474: Cation transport ATPase ref|XP_356827.1 20 1339 81 2 to 249 Lactobacillus gasseri COG1284: Uncharacterized conserved protein ref|ZP_00047447.1 22 1462 47 2 to 665 Bacillus circulans Beta-D-galactosidase ref|ZP_00046986.1 24 1690 25 44 to 279  Streptococcus putative surface exclusion protein ref|NP_830287.1 pyogenes 26 1869 86 1 to 220 Lactobacillus gasseri COG0637: Predicted phosphatase/phosphohexomutase ref|ZP_00060522.1 28 1877 34 9 to 130 Lactobacillus gasseri COG1396: Predicted transcriptional regulators ref|ZP_00045911.1 30 1948 68 1 to 238 Lactobacillus gasseri COG0363: 6-phosphogluconolactonase/Glucosamine-6- ref|ZP_00046833.1 phosphate 32 600 65 1 to 799 Lactobacillus phosphoketolase emb|CAC84393.1 pentosus 34 877 55 2 to 159 Lactobacillus gasseri COG0778: Nitroreductase ref|ZP_00045913.1| 36 1870 85 1 to 755 Lactobacillus maltose phosphorylase ref|NP_964229.1| johnsonii NCC 533

TABLE 4 PFAM results for each protein sequence SEQ Amino Acid ID Range (Start, PFAM NO: ORF Domain Stop) Family Accession No. E-value 2 395 CoA_transf_3  76, 291 CoA-transferase family III PF02515 2.90E−69 4 396 TPP_enzyme_M 197, 351 Thiamine pyrophosphate enzyme, central domain PF00205 1.50E−47 4 396 TPP_enzyme_N  7, 178 Thiamine pyrophosphate enzyme, N-terminal TPP PF02776 1.60E−45 binding domain 6 38 Cob_adeno_trans  5, 168 Cobalamin adenosyltransferase PF01923 1.00E−46 14 149 Usp  3, 146 Universal stress protein family PF00582 6.90E−18 16 1119 Cons_hypoth698  1, 309 Conserved hypothetical protein 698 PF03601 6.00E−62 18 1234 E1-E2_ATPase  66, 288 E1-E2 ATPase PF00122 1.00E−36 18 1234 Hydrolase 292, 536 haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolase PF00702 1.00E−23 20 1339 DUF161 105, 186 Uncharacterized BCR, YitT family COG1284 PF02588 4.20E−24 22 1462 Glyco_hydro_42 192, 605 Beta-galactosidase PF02449 1.90E−150 26 1869 Hydrolase  2, 192 haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolase PF00702 4.00E−29 30 1948 Glucosamine_iso  16, 236 Glucosamine-6-phosphate isomerases/ PF01182 1.80E−45 6-phosphogluconolactonase 34 877 PTS_IIA  16, 111 PTS system, Lactose/Cellobiose specific IIB subunit PF02302 8.70E−40 36 1870 Glyco_hydro_65m 320, 692 Glycosyl hydrolase family 65 central catalytic domain PF03632 4.30E−203 36 1870 Glyco_hydro_65N  11, 266 Glycosyl hydrolase family 65, N-terminal domain PF03636 2.00E−86 

1. An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 3, wherein said nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity.
 2. A plasmid comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim
 1. 3. A microbial cell comprising a heterologous nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 3, wherein said nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity.
 4. The microbial cell of claim 3, wherein said microbial cell is a bacterial cell.
 5. The microbial cell of claim 4, wherein said bacterial cell is a probiotic bacterium.
 6. The microbial cell of claim 4, wherein said bacterial cell is a lactic acid bacterium.
 7. The microbial cell of claim 6, wherein said lactic acid bacterium is selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. gasseri, L. johnsonni, and L. plantarum.
 8. The microbial cell of claim 4 further comprising a second nucleic acid molecule having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1, wherein said second nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity.
 9. The microbial cell of claim 8, wherein said second nucleic acid molecule is heterologous to said bacterial cell.
 10. The microbial cell of claim 6 further comprising a second nucleic acid molecule having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1, wherein said second nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity.
 11. The microbial cell of claim 10, wherein said second nucleic acid molecule is heterologous to said bacterial cell.
 12. A bacterium comprising (a) a first nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:3, wherein said nucleotide sequence encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity; and, (b) a second nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1, wherein said nucleotide sequence encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity; and, where at least one of said first or said second nucleic acid molecule is heterologous to the bacterium and said first and said nucleic acid molecules are operably linked to a promoter active in said bacterium.
 13. The bacterium of claim 12, wherein said bacterium is a probiotic bacterium.
 14. The bacterium of claim 13, wherein said bacterium is a lactic acid bacterium.
 15. The bacterium of claim 14, wherein said lactic acid bacterium is selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. gasseri, L. johnsonni, and L. plantarum.
 16. A method for modulating the oxalate degrading activity of a cell, comprising: a) introducing into said cell at least one heterologous nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 3, wherein said nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity; and b) culturing said cell under conditions that allow for expression of the nucleic acid molecule, wherein the expression of said nucleic acid molecule modulates the oxalate degrading activity of the cell.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said cell is a bacterial cell.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said cell further comprises a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1, wherein said nucleotide sequence encodes a polypeptide having oxalate degrading activity.
 19. A method for producing a polypeptide comprising culturing a microbial cell under conditions in which a heterologous nucleic acid molecule encoding the polypeptide is expressed wherein said polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4, wherein said polypeptide has oxalate degrading activity.
 20. A kit comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 1 and instructions for use.
 21. The method of claim 17 further comprising: a) transforming said bacterial cell with a second nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a heterologous polypeptide, or fragment thereof; and b) culturing said bacterial cell under conditions that allow for expression of the second nucleic acid molecule, wherein said heterologous polypeptide or fragment thereof modifies the functional properties of said bacterial cell.
 22. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein said nucleic acid molecule comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 23. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein said nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide comprising the amino acid set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 4. 24. The plasmid of claim 2, wherein said nucleic acid molecule comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:3.
 25. The plasmid of claim 2, wherein said nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:4.
 26. The microbial cell of claim 3, wherein said nucleic acid molecule encodes a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:4.
 27. The method of claim 19, wherein said polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:4.
 28. The method of claim 19, wherein said microbial cell is a bacterial cell.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein said bacterial cell is a probiotic bacterium.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein said bacterial cell is a lactic acid bacterium.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein said lactic acid bacterium is selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. gasseri, L. johnsonni, and L. plantarum.
 32. The bacterium of claim 12, wherein said first nucleic acid molecule comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 33. The bacterium of claim 12, wherein said second nucleic acid molecule comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 1. 34. The bacterium of claim 33, wherein said first nucleic acid molecule comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 3. 35. The method of claim 17, wherein said bacterial cell is a probiotic bacterium.
 36. The method of claim 17, wherein said bacterial cell is a lactic acid bacterium.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein said lactic acid bacterium is selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. gasseri, L. johnsonni, and L. plantarum. 